Running Free
by miz mizery
Summary: Through the mindless humans of this earth walks a man with only one goal in mind. No one in his right mind challenges him, with good reason. Except for one paricular blonde. I suck at summaries. Yaoi, narusasu, other pairings. Just read for me please.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-

The cold slate gray of the concrete jungle better known as New York City, New York held a certain air of foreboding in the late afternoon sky. The clouds themselves shriveled and withered into the nothingness of the horizon, and the sky was two-toned with blue and purple. A cool breeze picked up nearby trash- papers, plastic bottles, old lottery tickets- and swirled them around the empty streets and their inhabitants' feet as they hurriedly and mindlessly made their way to whatever more important thing that was on their list as human beings.

Among these robots programmed to live life one year at a time, measured by an onslaught of mishappenings thought to be caused by old age and birthday after tired birthday, was a young man who had not let the over thought and over processed thing called age bother him. He was merely twenty-four, ancient in the eyes of the youth, and nothing quite special. He walked with an air of natural confidence, something severely lacking in the modern world for one of his age. His dark eyes, black in the quickly fading light of day, stared down any being who dared to challenge his authority.

As it turned out, not many dared. Who in their right mind would intentionally anger one of the most powerful men in the United States? He was known by two names which were both very popular: Sasuke Uchiha, owner of Uchiha Industries, and Sasuke, assassin. The latter was his secondary job. Sasuke was not a popular name in the least, and he was constantly maintaining his identity as one of the most prestigious companies of all time. Still, assassinations of every variety were his real forte. From powerful figures of stature to lowly drug dealers, he was called to the job, simply because he was known to do it right.

He had an assignment tonight.

Sasuke mentally reviewed his assignment, going over all of the glorious details that would essentially make his job both easier and more pleasurable. The man's name was Sai. He was younger than the Uchiha, but not by much. Maybe a year, two possibly. He resided in a district known to the lesser community as Grass City, popular for its large amount of drug addicts and dealers.

Sasuke smirked to himself, thinking of how obvious the name was. There wasn't a spot of grass around the cement and asphalt encrusted township. Sai wouldn't be hard to find at all. He was known far and wide for his deals, and it wouldn't be hard to weasel information out of an unsuspecting bystander.

Blending into his surroundings was another trait the Uchiha had picked up from working this job for the past six years, and he pulled a pack of Marlboro Lights cigarettes out of an inner pocket of his leather jacket, placing the cancerous stick in his mouth and lighting it quickly. The taste of unlit tobacco itself was enough to get him off, but at times like this, he needed a little more, if not for the sake of his blending in, but for the excitement and anticipation of the hunt. He took a long drag on the cigarette and relished in its flavor.

It was past twilight, the silent encroachment of dark transforming harmless shadows into things of nightmares fit for a Stephen King novel, much loved by the shadow that Sasuke was and new it. He ghosted through the alley, leaving a trail of thin smoke and the vague scent of men's aftershave in his wake. His shoes made little to no noise on the asphalt. _Ghost_ really was a fitting name for the man.

"Well, well," Sasuke murmured, coming to a halt a few meters off a still figure wrapped in dark cloths. Pulling the twin pistols out of their holster, he aimed them at the figure, almost positive as to who it was. "Who is it we have here?"

"Who's asking?" the figure grumbled, sitting up slowly, as if in pain. Sasuke was sure that whoever it was knew who was asking, and he cocked the pistols, ready to shoot.

"Why don't you put those toys away, Ghost," the man muttered, looking at Sasuke with a bored expression that made him smirk. Sai blinked lazily like a cat.

"How about not?" Sasuke liked playing with his victims, toying with their thoughts until they convinced themselves that he would spare them, and then kill them. It was so much more entertaining to see that last glimmer of false hope flicker across their faces.

Sai didn't fall for it. "Just kill me already."

"Oh, but what's the fun in that?" Sasuke frowned. He didn't like this. Sai was giving up too easy. The game seemed over before it had really began.

"I just shot a load of heroin, Ghost. No matter what I know I'm through. So just shoot."

Sasuke's frown turned into a grimace. This was really no fun. He wanted to have the pleasure of personally destroying the little worm. He lowered the pistols, but didn't holster them.

Sai licked his lips, smiling. The two silver rings in either side of his bottom lip shimmered dully in the dark, and it reminded Sasuke of a hungry vampire or a snake ready to strike. It gave him an eerie feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Almost as Sasuke had expected, Sai sprang up off of the wall and sprinted down the alley away from him. Mechanically, the man fired a shot from each pistol, hitting Sai between the shoulder blades with both bullets, and causing him to drop to the ground instantly with barely more than a whisper of sound. Sasuke smiled. This game really had been enjoyable for him.

He turned silently, leaving his latest victim behind without a second thought. There were many more to be taken care of.

* * *

A/N

This is my first writing fic that i actually published. First of all, I would like to thank whoever decided to read this. Next, is that i need a beta. A good one too. Next, is that i will either be updating weekly or bi-weekly. If anyone cares of course.

uh, R&R please. peace.


	2. Chapter 2

Author: Miz Mizery

Rating: M

Sorry, guys who wanted chapter updates, cause I just like accidentally added three chapters. I'm so so so sorry. I'm just a little bit freakin retarded and this heat it's like ninety or something is freakin unbearable. so yea, sorry. enjoy.

oh yea, and the reason I updated so early is because i am going to a camp this weekend with no internet. gasp yea I know. how will I survive? anyways, I'll probably be updating early next week cause I'm going to VA for vacation. okay, so NOW enjoi!

* * *

Chapter 2-

Sasuke's pair of 500 S&W Magnum Revolvers were not the only things that he cared for with his very being. Rounding a corner, he pulled out his keys to the smoky black 2008 Ducati that he had bought earlier that year. It was covered with a gray tarp in a secluded alley with little foot or vehicle traffic and even if someone happened to come by, it appeared to be little more than garbage. In all actuality, it had pitched a hefty sum from the young Uchiha. It was custom made for him, tailored to his every desire. Even the helmet and leather he wore were made specifically for him.

He pulled off the tarp, revealing the machine that his older brother Itachi jokingly referred to as Sasuke's 'vice', 'baby' or any other term of endearment the man could come up with. He was right in every way. Sasuke had often been caught talking about the bike as he would a child or a wife, and for a man who had neither as far as he knew- and if he did, by any chance, have a child, he would definitely know, for the child's mother would be out to get every ounce of child support she could- it was fair game.

The Ducati made a lovely sound when operated, one that Sasuke loved. Although, it was not as good as the sound of the highway buzzing beneath the tires as he neared one hundred ninety miles an hour. That was a speed that he had reached only once in his lifetime, however short it may be, and he intended on reaching it again. He would have to settle today on weaving through the six a.m. New York City traffic that seemed to constantly plague the state. He wouldn't be able to go anything above stop-and-go thirty miles before he reached the city limits.

He had killed six people tonight. It was a staggering amount, even for him. He was exhausted, and his lithe, athletic body was starting to feel the strains of an entire nights work. Thank the gods that Sasuke had had the intelligence to take the day off of work. He hadn't known that he was going to be gone all night, but he always took the next day off to watch the news, see if anyone had reported the people that he had so tactfully murdered. Or if anyone really even cared.

Sasuke grimaced behind the tinted visor of his helmet when a taxi got too close. If his job didn't kill him first, the traffic would.

His cell phone vibrated against his thigh, and he ignored it. It was no doubt Itachi wondering where his little brother was. As far as he knew, Sasuke was at an imaginary girlfriends house all night, but he was supposed to have been back at five or five thirty in the morning. So he was a half hour late, a little more perhaps, depending on this cursed traffic. It wasn't enough to come panicking to him. And Itachi should know better than to call him when he may be on his way home on a Thursday night. Everyone gets to work early on Fridays to get off early. Itachi of all people should know that. Of course Sasuke couldn't answer his phone when he was driving. This traffic was horrendous. Sasuke couldn't figure out for the life of him why he had insisted on living in New York, besides the fact that Uchiha Industries, a business solely created by the young Uchiha himself and without help at age sixteen, was stationed here. True, the business had grown in the last six years, having now a company in every major city of the United States and one in almost every country, four in Japan. He could live wherever he pleased, if he pleased. Still, New York held a certain _je ne sais quoi _that he couldn't find elsewhere. The crime in New York was at a high this year. That meant his job as an assassin was also at a high. Not to mention that this was where he made his start and has always lived. But if it weren't for that, he would've left long ago.

His phone vibrated again, but this one held a different pattern. Three spots, then a sustained one.

Cutting through the streaming traffic to his right and earning several irritated horn honks from the many people who were in a hurry, as Sasuke was now, he pulled over to the side of the road, digging in the pocket of his skin-tight leather pants for his sleek cell, a new model that he had recently purchased.

"Hello?" he asked urgently after tearing off his helmet and whipping open his phone. He had just barely made it, and he was still searching for a place to park when the person from the other line answered.

"Sasuke, there is a new assignment for you."

Pulling into a space just big enough for his Ducati, Sasuke frowned, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"I just got six tonight-"

"It's urgent."

"How urgent could it possibly be that I can't even go home first?"

A chuckle came across the line, and judging by the tone, chastising and condescending, Sasuke knew that his boss thought the same thing about the him as Itachi did. "Sasuke, if you would rather get some rest than do your job, maybe this isn't for you. Besides, your assignment is not as simple as they previously have been. This will take days, weeks, months even."

Sasuke smirked, but only because his boss was not here. If he had been, any emotional incompetence would have been looked upon as ignorance, something that Sasuke definitely not want at the moment. "Who is it? Orochimaru? Kabuto?"

Kakashi's tone was grave. "Worse. Naruto Uzumaki."

* * *

A/N

So Sasuke has a big secret! He's hiding his murderous ways from Itachi, which I think is just vaguely messed up, considering that in the anime, Itachi's the one who is murderous, but at least he doesn't hide it, which in that situation, would have been the best i think.

Thank you to you guys who took time to read the first chapter. Honestly, when I saw that I had two hits only, like, an hour after i posted, i went almost into a meltdown, but whatever. I'm such a nerd. Uh, well that's all i have to say besides R&R please. peace.


	3. Chapter 3

**Running Free**

**rated M**

**Author Miz Mizery**

**all right, I'm sorry guys. It took a while to get this out becuase I just had no inspiration and I was so busy with work and family and friends and relationship stuff... well, you catch my drift. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it is greatly appreciated. And with no further ado, I give you chapter three of Running Free. Enjoi!**

Chapter 3-

The red, orange, and purple strobe lights of Daiquiri bathed the black satin-walled interior in soft hues, opposite of the effect achieved. The acre-wide dance floor was crowded to capacity and more were still filtering in through the four glass doors that broke the bar from the club. The steady beat of heavy bass rippled through the floor, and the dancing crowd writhed and moved almost as one, seeming to be an alive, boneless creature of massive and grotesque proportions.

Naruto Uzumaki was one of the components of this animalistic thing. Four hands held him as he danced, barely noticing the man who pressed himself into Naruto's back provocatively, and only paying any attention to the young-looking girl who had her arms around his neck. The other pair of these hands, belonging to the young male behind the blond-haired man whom Naruto did not know the name of, held his hips tightly in a possessive grip. Naruto knew neither of them, and in his drunken state, did not care that either of them were getting closer, almost unclothing him in they're dance.

The blond moved fluidly to the music, feeling the very soul of him come to the surface with the techno beat. The threesome caught much attention, but not because of the being of the dance, but because of the Naruto himself at the center of it all. He was a great dancer, one of the best at Daiquiri. When he had first begun working here, he had been inquired on a job as a dancer, but he had shot them down. The money would have been too much for him. He wouldn't have wanted to leave, which he was in a few weeks. This job was only temporary. He wasn't looking for anything stable. He had all the stability he so desired, which was not much.

A couple of feet away, a fight broke out. Suddenly struck with interest, Naruto pulled away from his companions, curiosity overwhelming his alcohol buzz. The man behind him growled low in his throat, unheard by anyone, at the sudden leaving of the blond, and followed him, also curious of the cause of this fight that was taking up most of the dance floor by now.

Pushing past several dancing couples, Naruto stumbled upon the scene; two men battling it out over God knew what. The blond scowled, looking around for the girl that was probably the source of the mayhem, but saw no plausible candidates. He felt someone's hand brush his shoulder and brushed it off, irritated by the fact that he was aware of everything around him.

The sudden awareness that had set in had caused Naruto to check over the two men at the center of the quarrel again, and his scowl darkened further. Stepping between the two would have been a much trickier task if not for the blonde's stunning appearance that had left both men gaping. Simply annoyed now, Naruto grabbed one of the men's collars and brought him face-to-face with the commanding blond man. A soft smirk crossed his face when the cowardly man looked terrified.

"Pathetic," Naruto muttered, before shoving the man away into the crowd with a strength that defied his appearance. Turning back to the other, he grabbed him by his lapels and dragged him through the crowd to the double-doors where it was much quieter.

"Aren't you even going to thank me for saving your skinny ass," Naruto said, his blue eyes flashing dark with annoyance. The man smiled wickedly, peering up into the blonde's face with an openness that was uncommon with drug-dealers.

"Thanks, man," the man said, smoothing his red hair over his forehead. His fingertips lingered on the tattoo on his temple before they continued down to his pocket of his black sports coat. "I owe you one." His tone was so belittling, causing Naruto to bristle and grind out his next words through gritted teeth.

"Of course you do. Follow me."

Naruto spun on his heel, heading towards the front desk where one could rent one of the many lavish rooms Daiquiri housed for a considerable sum. It was no wonder the bar was such a hotspot; instead of getting wasted and hooking up with someone at home, one could simply rent a room for a few hours, and one's wife would never know of such antics. And Naruto being an employee helped considerably. He flashed a grin at the young woman working there and laid a credit card on the cherry-wood top of the desk.

"An hour, please, ma'am," he said smoothly, making sure to let his eyes dim slightly in a way that got him everything that he wanted. She blushed and nodded, avoiding eye contact with the young blond and instead looking over his companion, who glared at the girl. He attempted a smile like Naruto had; the girl coward slightly and handed the blond his credit card back, along with a small silver key on a plastic key ring that had Daiquiri's symbol on it.

They walked in silence to the room, standing at opposite corners in the elevator that brought them to their floor. Naruto studied himself in the vaguely glowing golden wall of the elevator to the left and slightly higher of his dealers face.

Daiquiri was known for its amount of money it brought in. It was also known for how well it treated its guests. The room that Naruto had rented was slightly bigger than his own bedroom, occupied by a large bed against the far wall, sheets the color of blood, the frame black as pitch, a matching set of nightstands on either side of the former, and small sitting area, defined by a lowering of the level of the flooring, two sitting chairs, and a small coffee table, decorated with various foods. This is where Naruto went after flipping on the light switch.

"So what brings the infamous Gaara here?" Naruto questioned, sitting in one of the chairs and quirking an eyebrow in question.

The red-haired man took the only other seat opposite Naruto and laughed stiffly, the action unnatural for the emotionless man. "Why, Naruto, would I be here for any other reason other than for you?"

"How sweet of you. What do you have?" It wasn't a question but a statement. Gaara smirked.

"What do you think?"

"Let's see then."

On his words, Gaara pulled a plastic baggie out of an inner pocket of his sports coat. Naruto's eyes lit up, his fingers twitching slightly on his knees.

"Where'd you get it?" he asked, leaning forward and taking the baggie from Gaara. The red-haired man frowned.

'What does it matter? Look, you got the cash for that or am I going to have to start a tab for you again?"

"Calm down, dude," Naruto said, opening the baggie and rubbing his index finger in the soft white powder inside. " I have the cash. I just don't have it right now."

"The last time you said that I waited for a month for the money you promised you would have in a week."

"I didn't _see_ you for a month!" Naruto protested, tucking the closed baggie into his waistband after licking the powder off of his fingers. "And I don't get paid until next week. It's not like I can just transfer a couple grand worth of money to some strange person who doesn't have a plausible job."

Gaara grimaced and stood in a moment. "I do too have a plausible job."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "A plausible, _good-paying _job."

Gaara growled low in his throat, clenching his fists. Naruto pulled the baggie out again, busying himself with the lines he had created on the crowded table. His nose stung slightly before the high set in, and he leaned back in his chair, his head lolling back with a self-satisfied look on his strong features.

"Look, I didn't mean it that way," he said, his tongue feeling thick in his mouth. "What I meant is that I can't just send a dealer a ton of money. Especially if they don't know that you're a dealer. I'm just looking out for you, my dog, my buddy, my man…"

"Your dealer?" Gaara asked, raising a thin, nearly invisible eyebrow.

"That too."

The two men stood a while after, having done several lines each and drank a bottle of scotch, and clasped hands in friendship, pulling into each other in a tight embrace.

"Don't get caught," Naruto warned, mumbling into the man's jacket.

"Same advice to you," Gaara returned, smiling stiffly, as was the usual.

* * *

The house was quiet, hidden in shadow and mystery, just how Sasuke liked. It was odd, however, for his mansion to be so dead at seven o'clock in the morning, on a Friday, nonetheless. It was not odd for his older brother to be sleeping, but even so, despite how annoying Itachi had become, Sasuke wished for even that presence in the stillness.

The raven-haired man dropped his keys in a small glass container on the marble countertop in the kitchen, his routine that had not been broken over the last two years. His boots' heels clicked on the linoleum flooring as he made his way the refrigerator, the suction _pop_ of the door swallowed up in the shadows.

He downed his bottle of beer in a matter of minutes, the long ride home leaving him tired and dry. He kicked off his boots and padded softly into the foyer. It was where the grand staircase was, and he ran up it, taking two steps at a time and panting softly at the top of it, two floors up. His room was in the Eastern wing of the house on the third floor. Itachi's was in the Northern, several rooms away from the younger of the two's.

Sasuke's cell phone vibrated again as he entered his room. It was Itachi, of course. The raven answered on the second circuit of vibrations.

"Yes?" Sasuke asked, allowing only a slight tone of irritation creep into his normally monotone voice.

"Where have you been, _otouto_?"

The raven bristled slightly, yelling into the receiver, "I'm Twenty-four freakin' years old, Itachi! Stop calling me that!"

"You are my younger brother," came the smooth, calm reply. "I shall call you what you are.."

"Whatever. What do you want?"

"Where have you been?"

Sasuke smirked. "With my girlfriend. What, do you want all the hot, sweaty details too?"

The lie worked, as usual. Itachi never would suspect. He was too busy with himself as it was. It was still annoying, having to lie all of the time. It wasn't like Sasuke really had to lie, either. It wasn't a rule that Kakashi had established when he began working for Sharingon inc., but it had been Sasuke's own rule that he had created for his own protection. What would people say if they found out that the leader of Uchiha Industries was an assassin? His business would flounder; the way that he had been living for the past eight years would vanish. It wasn't as if his parents could simply support him and his brother for the rest of their lives. They weren't rich; they could barely support themselves as it was. Sasuke made monthly checks out to them so they could simply live. He was not only working for himself, but for his entire family.

* * *

Naruto woke in his bed the next morning not knowing how he had gotten there. Neji was beside him though, so he figured that he had eventually come to Daiquiri to find the blond man. He certainly had not driven himself home.

He couldn't even sit up, his hangover was that bad. He simply groaned and rolled over, burying his face into Neji's pale, smooth chest and savoring the scent of his skin.

"You're finally awake," the man stated quietly, his eyelids flickering open to reveal the pale violet eyes that Naruto fell in love with first.

"How long have I been out?" the blond grumbled, feeling Neji shudder when his hot breath met skin.

"Well, it's two in the afternoon. I found you at four last night. Had to practically pry you off of that girl…"

"Oh," Naruto paused, letting Neji's words sink in. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right." The man kissed Naruto's forehead gently, the blond strands of his hair tickling Neji's nose.

"I love you," the blond said quietly, kissing Neji on the mouth, before nuzzling back into the crook of his shoulder.

* * *

**A/N**

** So this is how the chapters will be going. Naruto will have another main pov, then two for Sasuke, so on. I didn't really like this chapter because I wrote it in a matter of hours, and it was rushed, but I do like the length. The last two were too short, so I hope this works better for all of you who like long chapters. I know i do. **

**Anyways, reviews are not only welcome but encouraged. Any review. Any criticism is good criticism. **

**peace.makelovenotwar.spreadtheword.**


	4. Chapter 4

Author: Miz Mizery

Rating: M

A/N: Okay, this is the edited version. You might have noticed. I'm too lazy to really edit it, but whatever. It's late. I don't care right now. And my dad just read this and pointed out a ton of mistakes, so me and my OCD-ness had to go back and re-do it.... dammit.

Okay, enjoi the newly edited chapter four please!

* * *

Chapter 4-

11:57 P.M. It had been three hours and forty-two minutes since Naruto had last checked the digital clock sitting on a nightstand beside his and Neji's bedside. He thought maybe it was a new personal record. He had often played this game when he couldn't sleep and he didn't want to wake Neji to keep himself entertained. It just proved that Naruto was very patient.

The blond slipped out from beneath Neji's warm arm, relinquishing himself to the cold air of the house. They turned off the heat at night, despite the fact that it was an excruciatingly cold November in Manhattan. The chill sank right through Naruto's thin boxers and wife beater that he wore to bed at least a few times a week- every other day too occupied with Neji to even think of clothes. He rubbed his arms absentmindedly before turning on the laptop that stood open on the desk that shared occupancy with the bed and nightstand in the small room. The desk was metal, government issued. The folding chair that was used to sit at while at the desk stung the backs of Naruto's thighs with the cold, causing a low breath to hiss through his teeth that was quickly smothered when Neji groaned and rolled turned over in bed.

The blond pulled up his e-mail, sifting through the unimportant things to get to the important things. Drug deals, recent murders, news, things that he thought he should know. Naruto always made sure to know exactly what was happening in the world, just in case. And it never hurt to be aware. Awareness was the only thing that kept him alive.

There were a few e-mails from work that he deleted, along with most of the rest of them. The only one that he kept was a message from Kiba, the man who owned the house Naruto and Neji were living in, and the blonde's best friend besides his fiancé and Gaara, detailing that the ring that Naruto had purchased for Neji was finally available and that he could get rid of that 'shitty piece of metal that you call a ring'. Naruto laughed inwardly when he read this, remembering that his fiancé was a light sleeper.

He exited out of his e-mail, signing into a site designed by the FBI for the most wanted criminal of today. Naruto was number sixteen, and he smiled, pleased with this result. It was just a day for personal records to be broken, it seemed.

He checked the clock in the corner of the screen. 12:36 A.M. He hadn't been on for too long, but it still surprised him that Neji hadn't woken up yet.

Yawning, the blond went to turn off the computer when through his blurred vision he saw an orange flashing light at the bottom of the screen.

"What's this?" Naruto murmured, tapping his chin thoughtfully. The blinking stopped for a minute or two, and then it changed colors, from orange to blue, as what happened when the person on the other end of the chat said something else, and began flashing again.

Naruto accessed the chat, scanning the screen name to see if he recognized it. He didn't, the e-mail address not being one he knew either.

The typist on the other end sent another text.

"Impatient," Naruto mused, biting the tip of his finger to stop himself from giggling. How could one have a screen name like 'The Master' and not be patient?

Giving up on deciphering the person on the other line, Naruto consented to reading the three messages. The first of the three was quite uninteresting, simply saying "Hello". The second asked if Naruto knew who the typist was. The third was the most interesting by far: "I work for Sharingan Inc. Can you guess who I am now? I know _you_, Naruto."

It wasn't surprising that this stranger knew him, and even Naruto thought that it was a half-assed threat. Still, he decided to play his or her game.

'How do you know my name?' Naruto typed quickly, not in the least worried about this stranger uncovering his IP number for his computer. There were over six hundred firewalls protecting it, and not even the most state of the art computer could get to his location. He had nothing to fear.

'Please,' was the quick response, 'everyone knows you. Don't act stupid.'

Naruto grinned. 'You caught me. So, what do you want?'

'You.'

Now the blond had to laugh, although quietly still.

'I get that a lot, honey. And your screen name's not gonna get me any faster, despite what you may think.'

It was several minutes before he got a response.

'You egotistical bastard. Don't thin that I want you for your body. I don't. You're on the FBI's most wanted list for six murders, possession, and thievery.'

'Oh, how sweet. You know why record. But don't forget arson.'

'Yes. Very well, then I must tell you that I have computers working right now to discover your location. As of right now, we know that you are living in New York.'

"Shit," Naruto muttered, tapping his fingers on the metal desk. Choji had fire walled this whole thing, and it was supposedly unbreakable. The only way to get in would be if Choji had told this bastard everything.

'You're in Manhattan…'

'Who are you?' Naruto typed out. He licked his lips nervously, which he rarely did. This was very bad if he was nervous.

'I'm called a lot of things. But you can call me Ghost.'

Naruto didn't know the name again, but it intimidated him nonetheless.

He immediately exited out of the conversation, and, leaving the computer on, pulled a canvas backpack out of the small closet in the hallway outside of his bedroom and woke Neji up, dialing Kiba's cell phone number on his own cell all the while.

"What's wrong?" the dark-haired man asked when he saw Naruto's serious face.

"Oh, nothing," the blond said, smiling and kissing the man's forehead, irritated that Kiba wasn't picking up. "We're just going on a vacation for a few weeks."

* * *

When Sasuke reached the location, he was pissed. Considering that he had just had an argument involving his imaginary girlfriend with Itachi, he had a right to be, and it was just made worse when the police had informed him that Naruto Uzumaki was not there.

"Have you searched the whole house?" Sasuke asked, pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to remain calm.

"Yes, sir."

"Can I search?"

The young officer looked stunned for only a moment. He was new. He had never dealt with an Uchiha before. "Uh, why, sir?"

"Simple," Sasuke said distractedly, removing an invisible speck of dirt from his manicure. "Because I don't trust lowly _city_ cops to do the job right. There is a warrant, correct?"

"Uh…" The officer trailed off at the glare he was receiving from Sasuke.

"Are you saying that there is no warrant?" he hissed. "Must I do everything myself?"

"Yes, sir. I mean, no sir, you don't have to do everything. I'll go call one in now."

"Idiot," Sasuke muttered as the cop turned and ran toward one of the flashing police cruisers, and he turned and strode up the six stairs to reach the houses front door. It was a simple house, with white trim and cream-colored siding, two stories with a cellar outside, two-car garage, a house that Sasuke was not used to. The first floor had a small kitchen, painted a horribly bright shade of orange, and a small living room, two easy chairs, suede, not really leather, a sofa with an orange throw blanket over the back of it, a plasma screen television over a beautiful stone fireplace that seemed out of place in this odd little house. Upstairs were two bedrooms and bathrooms; one of the bedrooms seemingly unused for quite some time, nothing interesting in the attached bath except for sleeping pills, condoms, and children's toothpaste in the medicine cabinet, and the smaller bedroom housing nothing but a recently slept in twin bed and a desk with the laptop he had traced on it. The walls were a soft shade of blue, a color that Sasuke found pleasing to his eye if not to his stomach.

When he turned on the laptop, and e-mail popped up on the screen, Interested, Sasuke sat in the folding chair and clicked on the window.

A cartoon blond character came up on the screen, laughing silently at Sasuke. The speech bubble beside his head said "Gotcha!" and the character continued laughing, the words spelling itself out repeatedly.

Sasuke cursed under his breath and searched through the whole computer twice to figure out where Naruto could've gone. How stupid he had been, telling the man he knew where he was. Of course Naruto would have resources to make a hasty departure. Sasuke dropped his head on the metal desk in frustration, the hollow _thud_ resonating in his ears. It had only been half an hour since the conversation abruptly ended. He couldn't be far. There was no way. It wasn't like he could take an airplane out of New York. That would be stupid. He was driving. He couldn't get far without speeding, and that was also out of question.

Sasuke reached into his pocket when his phone vibrated, interrupting his thoughts. The tight leather slightly hindered the action, but he still managed.

"Yes, Kakashi?"

"I hear that you let him escape." His tone was even, but Sasuke could sense the anger beneath it all.

"Not necessarily-"

"Is he gone?"

Sasuke paused. "Eh, yes."

"I want you here in fifteen minutes. Tops."

Sasuke started to protest, and then realized that the line was dead. He swore under his breath and closed the phone, pocketing it as he left. He reached the door when he thought to grab the laptop, which he did and left promptly, dodging the idiot cop on his way out. He hadn't taken his Ducati this night; it looked too unprofessional, and he wanted to be taken seriously. A sleek, dark blue Lamborghini was parked a short ways away, apart from the hustle and bustle of the busy police officers. Like he had said, he didn't trust these people in the least. And it was fairly disturbing to know that _these_ people were protecting the city. No wonder New York was such a trashy place. Although, he had to admit, they had been in contact with the young Uchiha for quite some time now, and his identity was a still a secret. Either Kakashi bribed them very well, or Sasuke was just intimidating.

Sasuke slid into the dark leather interior of the Lamborghini, starting the car quickly and tearing out of there. He had already wasted a couple minutes, and would be punished severely if he were to be late.

* * *

"Where are we going, Naruto?" Neji asked calmly, staring out of the passenger window at the passing streetlights that bathed the pickup in an orange glow.

Naruto chewed his lip thoughtfully, debating possible answers. "As of right now, Virginia Beach."

"Smart," Neji said sarcastically, tightening his leather jacket around his lean frame. "Go to the beach in the winter, yeah, not one of your better plans, hon." He pulled his hands out of his pockets to take a rubber band from his wrist and tie up his long hair. "Who are we running from now?"

Naruto laughed darkly. "When I find out, you'll be the first I tell."

"So you don't know?"

"Nope. Well," Naruto hesitated, tapping the steering wheel in an obscure rhythm. "I know whoever it is works for Sharingan Incorporated. He's called Ghost or something."

"This is really bad, Naruto," Neji murmured, pulling a cigarette out of the pack in an inside pocket of his jacket and lighting it.

"Hey, can I have one?" the blond asked, his fingers twitching on the wheel.

"But you don't smoke 100's-"

"I don't fucking care right now. I left mine at home."

They were quiet for a few minutes after that, both lost in their own thoughts.

"What about Kiba?" Neji asked suddenly, startling Naruto slightly.

"I couldn't get a hold of him. Besides, he's not coming back for a week as it is." The blond exhaled a thin trail of wispy smoke. "Everything will be sorted out soon anyways."

"That's _his_ house," Neji stated firmly, glaring at Naruto coldly. "And it was seized by the police. He's going to be pissed."

"He'll understand."

"He's not like us," the brunette continued, rolling down his window partly to let the cool air in. "Kiba has a job. One he can't just run away from when _you_ get us into trouble. So what are you going to do about this?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head. He didn't know, and Neji knew that. It wasn't as if he had never run away before because of his reputation. Hell, he couldn't count the times he had on both hands. This time was different though. The person hunting him had gotten too close, too soon. And Naruto didn't like that.

* * *

"What do we got?"

Sasuke tipped his chair back a bit, lifting the front two legs off of the carpeted flooring in Kakashi's office. He crossed his arms over his chest, trembling with cold. His boss liked the cold; he was originally from Alaska.

"Nothing," was the dark-haired man's clipped reply. He hadn't made it to the office in time; traffic and problems with the devastatingly slow elevator of course ensue when he is in a hurry.

"Cut the crap, Sasuke," Kakashi said, running a hand through his silver hair. The man had to be at least in his late fifties, Sasuke gauged, but he still appeared to be in his early forties. He had once been an assassin as well, not too long ago, in fact. He had trained Sasuke himself. "Now why don't you do yourself a favor and help me before I lose my temper."

"Yes, sir."

"Damn kids," Kakashi muttered, flipping through several files that were stacked on his messy desk. It annoyed Sasuke that his boss was so disorganized, but he was forced to ignore it, or else his obsessive-compulsive disorder may just be the death of him.

"Here," the silver-haired man said nonchalantly, tossing a thick manila folder to Sasuke. He caught it easily.

"What's this?" Sasuke asked, opening the folder and reading the profile page. He raised an eyebrow. "Who the hell is Neji Hyuga?"

The eye that was not covered by the eye patch- which Kakashi had received some twenty years ago, but the origins of which were a mystery to the young Uchiha- widened vaguely, a miniscule detail that Sasuke only barely caught before his boss said, "Neji Hyuga is Uzumaki's fiancé."

Sasuke scowled lightly. "Oh. I see."

"I hope you're not a homophobe, Sasuke." Kakashi chuckled at his employee's expression.

"My brother is bisexual," was all he said, and even this was spoken in monotone. Kakashi noted this and continued.

"Anyways, Hyuga is also infamous for his drug use." Sasuke raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Well, who did you think Uzumaki picked it up from? A trend with drug dealers is that someone else always introduces it. You should know that by now."

"I knew that," Sasuke said, irritated. "How come I have never heard of this Hyuga person?"

"He's from Japan."

"And?"

"An illegal immigrant."

Sasuke frowned, turning to a page where a picture was supposed to be. Of course, there was none.

"So you think, if we can get the boyfriend, we can get the target?"

Kakashi smiled, his visible eye twinkling with mischief. "Precisely."

"But how do we get Hyuga? We have absolutely no clue what he looks like."

"I'll leave that up to you. After all, you are the assassin."

The dark-haired man smirked. "Maybe, but you're the mastermind behind this convoluted plan."

Sasuke left after that, taking the files marked 'Hyuga' and 'Uzumaki' with him. His Lamborghini was parked two blocks away from Sharingan Inc., simply because this car was the one that he most often drove to work, and since it would be suspicious parking in front of a supposedly rival business, disguised as a place called Star, which had handled finances for the rich and retired about fifty years ago and now only existed as headquarters for other business', much like Sharingan. Not to mention that, with all of these years of killing people for money, he, despite the fact that he was rarely ever suspected, was very paranoid. He supposed it was because his parents relied on him so much. And he definitely did **not** want to go to jail for an endless amount of years, plus have the guilt of ruining one of the greatest assassination companies of all time because of his carelessness.

He didn't go to Uchiha Industries immediately after like he had originally planned. It was three o'clock in the morning as it was, and no matter how much he wanted to get a few hours of honest work in, the day's activities were catching up to him. He body felt heavy with sleep, but his mind was still sharp and focused. A million things were going through his head, all of which were unsettling and disturbing. And no matter what he ever did, they were still there, teasing him ruthlessly and hoping for him to fail. Sasuke wished for just a moment of silence in his head, where no worries or doubt plagued his conscious.

* * *

A/N:

Haha, okay, its done now. Go review for me.


	5. Chapter 5

The long awaited chapter has arrived!! Finally, and if you're anything like xXxBeautifulNightmarexXx then you've been waiting for this too! I know that I definately have. Thank The Offspring for the ending to this chapter. Their music is kickass.

Anyways, as always, this story is rated M. It is by Miz Mizery (which is moi) and edited by Mizter Mizery (my other self). I do not own the characters, and I didn't quite make five thousand words. So sue me, all right?

enjoi.

And since I'm on an editing spree, I'm gonna put another warning: This chapter is half-assed, yet important. So you still gotta read it. Sorry, my precious's.

* * *

Chapter five-

Sasuke slammed his bedroom door shut with a prominent _bang _that rattled the glass wall on the far end of the room. His eyes were flashing darker than normal, Itachi having done just one too many things to irritate the young Uchiha. First was the girlfriend spiel. Itachi wanted more information, of course. He had pretty much raised Sasuke from infanthood. Now, Sasuke figured that he felt he was missing out on part of his little brother's life, that is, if there was anything to miss out on.

Second was that fact in itself. Sasuke didn't have a life. And that pissed him off to no end. His life was work; plain and simple. And he didn't know what to do about it to fix it. He was twenty-four-years-old. He was paying for his parents to live. His older brother lived with him. He killed people part time. And he didn't even have a girlfriend.

Even, Sasuke thought, my creepy older brother can get someone. Why not me?

The dark-haired man walked into his bathroom and closed the door. The lights came on automatically. His bathroom itself was the size of the average living room. Everything glimmered in the lighting, including the black-blue sheen of Sasuke's hair. He stared at himself in the full-length mirror that covered almost an entire wall beside the large glass shower to his left.

Uchihas were naturally beautiful, both female and male, Itachi and Sasuke being two perfect specimens. And Sasuke couldn't find a physical trait that was wrong with him. He wasn't being arrogant; it was just the truth. He stood at about six foot three, maybe six four. He had broad shoulders, a thin waist and narrow hips. For all rights and purposes, he was perfect.

Sasuke took a shower after the contemplation of himself. He had just come in from another night of assassinating, despite the fact that he was still searching for Naruto and the blond-haired idiot's boyfriend. Sasuke knew that they were somewhere on the east coast. Call it a hunch, but he knew. He guessed that they went south; the cliché right? And that's just it. It's a cliché, going to Mexico, getting lost there, like in every bad cop movie out there. Everyone follows clichés whether they realize it or not.

He tried focusing on the task at hand, but his mind kept wandering to the 'No girlfriend' deal. He hadn't gotten laid in weeks. And his body was starting to feel the effects of it. His muscles were losing tone, and he was aroused so easily. Like now, for instance. Masturbation was against his morals; instead, after he had re-dressed, he took his bike out for a ride into the city, and alleviated his desires there.

His phone rang against his thigh as he mounted his bike, the soft vibrations tight against his erection, which caused Sasuke to moan quietly. He answered, irritated, and paled when he realized who it was.

"Oh, hello, Father," Sasuke stuttered out, a flush of embarrassed blush crossing his cheeks.

"It's nice to know that you still don't pay attention to the caller I.D. that you have," Fugaku said in his usual bored voice that was irritatingly similar to Itachi's, as Sasuke had noticed on many occasions. He grit his teeth and counted to three slowly in his head as to not blow up at his father.

"I am busy."

"Too busy to talk to me?" he countered.

"It's," Sasuke paused, glancing at the watch on his right wrist, "six in the morning."

"Remember that it's six at night where I'm at."

This was what irritated Sasuke the most about his father. The young Uchiha was making it very clear that he did not want to talk now, and yet, his father still harassed him until he felt pity on the old man and gave up.

"I am busy," Sasuke repeated, biting the inside of his cheek to hold back a moan when he shifted on the Ducati and brushed his erection.

"How busy can my son possibly be that he cannot talk to me?" His voice sounded sad to the raven's ear, like he had been thinking that his work was more important than him.

With that, Sasuke knew that his father had gotten him. He sighed and massaged his forehead, getting off of the bike and going back in the house.

"How's mom?" he asked dejectedly, dropping down on one of the couches that adorned his massive living room.

"Mikato is fine. She's going to the doctor today."

Sasuke frowned. "She has no health insurance."

"Your mother and I are both listed under yours, remember, Sasuke-chan?"

"Please, call me Sasuke, Father," he said with a sigh, closing his eyes. He hated being called a kid to begin with, it just was worse in Japanese. Not to mention the fact that his parents were leaching off of _him_. They had no right to call him a child.

"You are my son, I shall call you what you are."

Sasuke hung his hands between his legs, keeping the phone pinned between his ear and shoulder. "Yes, Father."

"How's work been, son?"

"Just fine, Father."

"And Itachi?"

"He is Itachi."

"I see. Is he around?"

Sasuke looked up at the ceiling, soft thuds coming from it, as if on cue with his father's words. He smirked. "Yes. Would you like to speak with him?"

He could hear his father's smile. "Yes, I would."

"Just a moment then." He stood from the couch and hurried into the foyer and up the stairs until he had come before Itachi's room. The thuds were much louder, and he thanked the Lord that his phone was a piece of shit.

He didn't even knock on the door, instead just simply walking in and informing the disheveled Itachi that they're father was on the other line. The girl that he was with looked up, and Sasuke was startled to see that it was actually a man who looked very much like a girl. Itachi paled and grabbed the phone as his lover giggled softly and traced a line up his jaw with a finger.

Sasuke leaned against the doorframe, trying to keep from laughing at Itachi as he talked to their father. Itachi was deliciously pissed, and Sasuke quite enjoyed this show of anger. The man he was with also enjoyed it, although he soon became irritated after Fugaku had been on the phone for over ten minutes.

"Itachi-san," he whined, tugging on the dark-haired man's earlobe. "Hurry up."

"I must go, Father," Itachi said, and, to Sasuke's surprise, he closed the cell phone a few seconds later and tossed it to him.

"Now get the fuck out of my room," he hissed, going back to his boyfriend.

"Gladly." Sasuke stepped out, closing the door quite forcefully just to get his point across that he didn't approve of what his older brother and the other were doing.

As he headed down to his garage where his Ducati was waiting patiently, he realized that he no longer needed sex. So instead, he went back to his room and changed into a designer suit and tie, grabbed his briefcase, and slipped into his Lamborghini and headed off to work.

* * *

Naruto tugged at Neji's hair to wake him, smiling when the Virginia sun touched his lover's face as he turned toward him.

"Hmm?"

"Does that mean 'what'?"

"It means go back to sleep, bastard," he said, smiling slightly. He moved the arm over his eyes and looked at the grinning blond. "What?"

"I love Virginia."

"Well that's good for you, but all this sun is making my skin dark."

"Oh, what a shame."

"Asshole."

"You love me." He kissed Neji gently on the cheek and slid out of bed, feeling the warm heat of the day cover his naked body in a kind of blanket.

He got dressed after taking a quick shower and headed downstairs to the dinning room. Neji was still pissed. It was better to leave him alone.

Three small children sat at the table, already eating breakfast since the bus would be there shortly to take them to school. They all resembled Naruto in a different way; one had blue eyes, two had blonde hair, and another was tall and thin for his age. They all regarded him with the same expression that their mother wore when her nephew was around; it was how they had been taught. They knew nothing of their cousin's expeditions in the drug and criminal societies that he had been raised in, but they knew that he was bad, deserving to be locked up. It was by a stroke of luck that Naruto had come across his aunt's address, for both sides a different stroke.

The woman was in the kitchen with her children, also eating breakfast. Naruto did not stop to sit down and eat, but instead muttered a good morning and went out the door.

He got into his car- he had gotten Neji to trade his truck for this under a false name and a different license number- and started it up, switching licenses in his wallet to this new one and stashing the other- the real one- behind the glass in the rear view mirror that he had pried apart upon purchase.

He was headed to the local cyber café, where he could go online and no one could find him. Neji didn't approve, as was the norm. He thought it too risky. Naruto didn't care. Why should he? He knew that he was going to get caught someday. It was okay with him whether it was today or tomorrow.

He sat down at a table, a cup of black coffee and a newspaper in his hands. He started with the paper, scanning the pages for his name. It wasn't there, which didn't surprise him. Next, he logged onto the Internet and went to his usual site, checking for his name on there as well. Odd, he thought when he didn't see it. He checked again and noticed that Gaara's name had been crossed out with the word 'Terminated' written below it.

A cold feeling started in his stomach and by the end of the list, it had crawled up his spine. Three of the people who he had been associated with in his drug deals including Neji and Kiba were considered 'Terminated'. It was disquieting, especially since Naruto had not spoken with Kiba in the week since Neji and him had made their hasty departure.

He tapped the foam coffee cup, then picked it up and drained it, crushing it in the palm of his hand.

* * *

The smell of fresh blood clotted the air, and made bile rise to the back of the youngest Uchiha's throat. It wasn't often that he had to kill someone who he was so closely attached to. It wasn't often that he cared.

He holstered his pistol and stepped away from the corpse, spitting onto the gray carpeted flooring. He felt his heartlessness in his chest, and felt the need to free himself of it. He emptied the contents of his stomach when he reached a dark enough alley, and wiped his mouth with a bitter resent.

"He didn't deserve it," Sasuke muttered feverishly, stumbling to his Ducati and trying to control his shaking. "Jake didn't deserve that."

Though it had been orders he couldn't refuse, Sasuke felt that he should've before the deed had been done. The man lying in his house, his wife soon to come home, children away at a sleepover, perhaps, had been Sasuke's mentor while he was learning the arts of assassination. Someone had discovered him. Kakashi had given Sasuke orders to destroy the man before the press found out. He still could've paid someone else to do it. He still could've told Kakashi no.

As he revved his motorcycle, he realized what he had done to the fullest. He had been told to kill the best friend he had ever had. And he had done it.

* * *

A/N:

All righty then. So what'dya think? I'm sorry it took so long for this measly chapter. It'll get better. Promise.

But since school has started it might take a while.

Review for me, puh-lease. Love ya, Bitches!


	6. Chapter 6

Author: Miz Mizery

Rating: M

A/N: Angsty-ish chapter. And, hey, you know what? This chapter was out A LOT sooner than the other one. Three months!(previous writers block time) This one's a lot longer too. That's good, I think. So this is chapter six, edited by me. Sorry, xXxBeautifulNightmarexXx, but I didn't let you edit this first (love you baby! ^,^) I was just too excited for this to come out. I really like this chapter. I hope you all do too. And the only way to show me the love would be to... leave reviews!!

Anyways, enjoi.

* * *

The dark fingers of shadow played at the edges of the room, sitting there and taunting the poor boy as he cowered in the opposite corner. He nursed his bruised face silently, touching it gently and wincing at the stinging contact. He crouched low when he heard a crash in the living room, squeezed his eyes tight shut to block the image of papers flying, his mother on the floor, crying, begging him to run. He didn't move, sat perfectly still so that his enraged father wouldn't find him again, wouldn't hurt him even more.

He put his small hands over his ears, blocking out the cries of his mother as she pleaded with his father to stop, rocking back and forth and singing a soft song that he had been taught in pre-school.

_I have seen you, little mouse,_

_Running all about the house, _

_Through the hole your little eye, _

_In the wainscot peeping sly,_

He flinched as he heard the dull impact of his father's hand on his mother during the lull of the song, and quickened the pace as tears escaped his eyes.

_Hoping soon some crumbs to steal_

_To make quite a hearty meal._

His mother's sobs reached an intensity that even cut through his song, her frantic voice as it screamed to get away from him. The boy stood and shakily ran to his room, though he tripped on the short flight of stairs there. He heard his father's footsteps behind him, could almost smell his drunken breath.

_Look before you venture out_

_See if pussy is about_

_And if he's gone, you'll quickly run_

_To the Larder for some fun;_

His father gripped him by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him to his feet, turning him around so that the boy was face-to-face with his father. The man glared at him, his eyes glazed over, and uttered a low threat.

"If I ever catch you- or your mother- sneaking food again, I'll _kill_ you."

_Round about the dishes creep_

_Taking in each peep,_

_Choose the daintiest that's there,_

_Spoiling things, you do not care._

Naruto woke damp with cold sweat, the sheets twisted around his limbs. Neji held him close as he cried into his chest, short, shaky breaths that were as close to crying that Naruto had ever come to since his mother had died. He clung to Neji, prayed for him not to let him go, while the man calmly smoothed his hair, used to occurrences, though rare, such as this from the blond man. It was uncommon that he relived what his father had done to him. Neji could only take the affection as it was; A delightful infrequency, in that which he would be able to hold his lover without him turning away, and thus, something to look forward to on cold nights such as this one.

When the blond head finally rose from the sheets he was buried in, Neji was already showered and fully dressed, drinking from a steaming mug of black coffee. He feigned sleep for several minutes; reluctant to relinquish the warmth and comfort that the bedding gave him. Finally, he was unable to suppress a yawn and Neji noticed.

"Good morning," the dark-haired man said stiffly, draining the last of his coffee after he said it.

"Morning," Naruto mumbled, not making eye contact and fiddling with a loose string on the comforter.

"You might want to get dressed," Neji said. He stood to his full height and stretched, hearing a loud popping noise come from his shoulders and back when he did this. Naruto raised a questioning eyebrow, snuggling down further into the covers.

"Why?"

The man came over to him and leaned above him, gently kissing the blond's forehead. It was hot and fevered on his lips, and he felt bad for his lover because of this.

He smiled and said, "Never mind. Go back to sleep. I'll come get you if you're not up by two though."

Neji closed the screen door gently as he left the house and headed down to the beach that adorned the back yard of the beach house that Naruto's aunt owned. Accompanying him was one of the oldest children, Hunter. The boy, who was nearly ten years younger than Neji, was fair-haired like his cousin, but had dark, almost black eyes and fair skin. He was very tall for his young age, almost to the man's shoulder, and he wore a dark brooding look, much like Naruto wore as well. The similarities outweighed the differences in the two, and Neji found it odd that two people who were so closely matched in looks could be so different.

"How did you meet my cousin?" Hunter asked, breaking into Neji's thoughts of the two. He smiled, finding it odd that he would ask.

"At work."

"Where'd you guys work at?"

"A club in New York."

Hunter was quiet for about a minute, but then he asked, "Why do you like him?" When the man didn't answer, he continued, though hesitantly. "I mean, I'm old enough to know why my mom doesn't like him. Well, not really. He's kinda a moron, right? Like he does things that he's not supposed to? She doesn't tell us anything." At this, a sour expression adorned his pretty face. "Anyways, I know that he's bad. I was wondering, like, what makes you attracted to him in the first place. Let alone to someone _like_ him."

Neji frowned. "Are you indirectly asking me why I'm gay?"

The boy blushed, frowned, and nodded. "But I'm also asking why you like _him._"

"I'm not." They had reached their destination, a pier that was awkwardly thrust out into the crystalline ocean, as if the person who had put it there had no regard for the look of it. They had to climb a flight of three stairs before they set foot on the unstable, salt-bleached wood.

"What?"

Neji, upon reaching the end of the short pier, sat down with one long leg hanging over the edge and the other pulled up to his chest. Hunter followed his lead, though he sat cross-legged.

"I'm not homosexual. I'm not bisexual either." He frowned, not really wanting to talk about this at the same time that he really did. "I haven't figured it all out yet." He remembered to answer the other half of Hunter's question, and murmured, "Bad boys turn me on."

"Oh."

"You didn't want to hear that, did you." It was more of a comment than a question, really.

"I don't care, actually."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "I was just wondering because my mom doesn't really like you either. She says it's because you're a… I don't know… She just doesn't like you or Naruto."

"She doesn't really have to, does she?"

"No, but you guys _are_ staying at our house."

"And we thank you very much for that. Naruto really needed this. If it wasn't for you guys, then I don't know where we'd be…"

They were silent for a long time, lost in their individual thoughts and listening to the ocean's speech and the moan of the wind. It whipped at Neji's long hair, pulled at the pair's jackets, and eventually, Neji tied his hair up and Hunter zipped up his jacket against the cold.

"What did Naruto really do?" Hunter asked softly.

Neji looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, wondering how mature this child really was. His eyes showed nothing, not quite blank, just, non-responsive. It made Neji trust him more, so much more that he told him everything, from the very beginning to the present. When he was finished, he was out of breath and silent, namely for the fact that he had dried tear streaks on his flushed cheeks. Hunter sat quietly as well, taking what was said and unsaid into perspective, into the right amount of clarity for his thirteen-year-old mind.

"So Naruto's a drug addict?" he finally asked, even more softly than the question that had begun this onslaught of information had been.

"Yeah. And he got himself into some deep shit and there are people trying to kill him now. So that's why we're here."

"Yeah, I got that part. Who's trying to kill him?"

"Don't know…" Neji frowned, realizing how uncertain their lives were right now. "Can we talk about something else, perhaps? What grade are you in now?"

"Eighth."

"What are you learning? Anything good?"

"Just stupid math and history shit."

"Hey, watch your language."

"You swear!"

"I do drugs too! You want to do that?"

"Nah."

They continued talking in this manner, joking and asking each other various questions, always avoiding the topic of the two men's presence in the household.

Finally, the wind whipped too hard or the ocean spray became too cold, but the two went back inside, lips chapped from the wind and cold and fingers numb, just in time for Hunter's mother to lie lunch on the table. Neji couldn't stay long though. He had gotten a call earlier, about four in the morning, from Kiba. The police had figured it out. They were coming to Virginia.

Sasuke turned the heat all the way up as he got into his car, cursing the whether as he did. It had snowed the night before, and he had forgotten to put his car into the garage, and therefore, had to deal with the enormous amounts of frozen snow that piled up against his car. He brushed it off of his gray wool trench coat, out of his hair with his numb fingers, then removed his jacket, and threw it into the dim back seat once the heat had warmed him enough. His windshield wipers worked furiously to remove the snow and ice, and he turned the defroster up high to melt it.

Finally, when he was able to see clearly, he pulled out of the drive and started along the road leading into Manhattan, where Kakashi had called him to. They had that Kiba guy, the one that Naruto and his boyfriend were renting from, in custody in the local police department. Just the thought of finally getting the blond done away with made Sasuke press harder against the gas pedal.

It had been only two weeks since he had killed his best friend. Two weeks, and the heartless bastard, as he so fondly called himself in times of self-loathing, was nearly over it. At least, that's how it appeared to anyone who knew him and of what he did, namely Kakashi. Two weeks ago, when he had come back to Sharingon to report to his boss, he had been hardly human with grief- or maybe that had been the most human he had been in years- Kakashi had told him, to put it quite simply, to get over himself.

Now he seemed fine, after taking a week and a half off of the most general assignments, but in all reality, he wasn't. As he raced down the dirt road, mindless of ice and other treacheries, he thought of resigning from his practice, maybe picking up a new one all together or simply quitting one and keeping his commerce. He thought that maybe the stress was all together too much, but he couldn't lie to himself. It took a talented person to do the job of an assassin well, and he had the damn talent, whether he liked it or not.

He could always just forget about it, anyways, like Kakashi had told him too.

"Yeah," he muttered, his dark eyes shining with tears. "I'll just fucking get over it."

He knew it wasn't that simple. It would never be that simple. He could never bring his dearest friend back.

These thoughts were still plaguing him as he pulled into the parking lot at the Manhattan Precinct, as he stepped from his warm car, the trench coat now safely pulled around his lean body, and even as he strode into the air conditioned office.

Only several knew him by name; One or two knew him by practice; hardly any knew him by Uchiha Industries, which was just how he wanted it to be. People were paid big money to keep their fucking mouths silent. Every officer in New York was paid to do this, whether they associated with him or not. Kakashi paid for this. Sasuke just sat back and watched.

Several upon arrival greeted him. A chorus _Mr. Uchiha_s and _Mr. Ghost_s went up around him, and he regarded them as if they were annoying flies: He waved them off vaguely and continued his rushed procession to the back of the precinct.

"Glad you could make it, Sasuke," Kakashi said sarcastically, noting how late the young Uchiha really was and showing his distaste for it perfectly. "I hope we didn't keep you waiting, your highness."

"Shut up, Kakashi," he snapped, not even caring what the man would say about that act of insolence.

He simply raised an eyebrow and offered one of the several seats that surrounded a small, gray table. On the table were filled glasses of water, a glass pitcher in the center, and a plastic tray of glazed doughnuts next to it. The room itself was painted a dusty white color, the carpeting thin and gray, and only one small window, barred and dirty, lent light into the room. Six other officers, some form Sharingon and some from the Manhattan Precinct, sat around the table. They all stared at the young Uchiha, sizing him up and judging how dangerous he was.

"Welcome, Mr. Uchiha," a balding officer in his late thirties said as Sasuke and Kakashi took their seats. Sasuke gave his boss a weary glance when he heard this, his name being uttered from a foreign mouth.

"This is all in confidential," Kakashi explained, "Everything said here, stays here." He smirked. "Or so the story goes, right boys?" It struck Sasuke as funny that Kakashi were to call the men seated around the table boys, considering that few were younger than him.

"I see," Sasuke mumbled, ever the quiet one in the thrall of a group. "And who might you be?"

The police officers exchanged glances, then, in turn, they all identified themselves. The person who first spoke, the one who had called Sasuke by name, was the only one who stuck in the young man's mind. His name was Officer Robert Moore, Chief of Police in Manhattan, and had been in the hospital many times because of knife fights and gang raids. He seemed, to Sasuke, the most like him, the only difference being that if it had been the young Uchiha, he wouldn't have ended up in the hospital, but the other way around.

"Now that we have all become well acquainted with each other," Kakashi said, reclining in his flexible office chair, "Why don't we get down to business? We have a definite accomplice to Uzumaki and Hyuga's escape in the next room. I think Sasuke should do the interrogation."

Sasuke glanced at Kakashi, trying to catch the joke in his eye. But at times like this, there was no joke. Several nodded, obviously having heard of the man and his accomplishments.

"But he's just a kid!" came other replies.

"I'm twenty-three," Sasuke gritted out, clenching his fists below the table. "I've been running my own business since I was sixteen. I've killed and seen more men die than all of you put together. I think I can handle and accomplice to an escape, thank you."

The room was silent; not even a miniscule fly buzzed at the window.

"All in favor?"

All nodded, though reluctantly from the naysayers.

"Who shall go with him?"

A young man, probably no older than Sasuke, volunteered, and it was okayed by the elder officers. His name was James, Sasuke remembered, and it was his first year on the force. He wondered what kind of experience this man had with interrogation, but didn't say anything.

The six remaining men, including Kakashi, which surprised Sasuke, adjourned to another room, the room that was used as a viewing area. A large glass mirror window was inlaid into one wall, overlooking the next room, a small, gray cell with a dozen fluorescent lights and a single table with three chairs in it.

"Look," James said, pulling Sasuke aside before they went into the room together. "I'm new, as you know. What's gonna happen?"

Sasuke glared at him, furious at how ignorant he could be. "You should've found out before you volunteered. Now get your ass in there. Our suspect is waiting."

Kiba knew nothing. It's not like his best friend would _tell_ him that his house was seized, let alone where he would go. Therefore, when the dark-haired, stunning man and another, less gorgeous and more homely man came into the interrogation room, the light-haired one looking like he wanted to be anywhere else in the world, Kiba's heart did a dance of fear. What would he tell them? What _could_ he tell them? Really, the answer was nothing. He could do nothing about not knowing where Naruto had gone- for he knew _he_ was the reason he was oh-so rudely cuffed and dragged down to the station, the bastard. He could've at least left him a note of some sort, rather than a telephone call stating that he left town.

"Hello, Kiba," the dark-haired one said, his voice so jaw-dropping sexy that the man who should've felt fear was suddenly enthralled by just this aspect of the man. "That is your name, correct?"

"Yes," he said carefully. "What's yours?"

The man looked not too happy at being asked this particular question, but finally he said something utterly ridiculous. "They call me Ghost."

Kiba had to contain the laughter from rising in his throat. "Really?"

The man frowned. "Really. And this is Officer James. I'm presuming that you know why you are here."

Kiba smirked. "Doesn't everyone _wonder_ why we are here?"

"Cut the shit, Inuzuka."

"Oh, anger issues, Ghost?"

The man calmed himself immediately. "Where's Uzumaki?"

"Right to the chase, huh?" The man called Ghost growled from where he stood across from him, his hands spaced on the table. The one named James looked nervous. "I don't know where the hell that sonuva bitch ran off to. For all I know, him and his boy toy could be dead."

"What do you mean?"

"Dude, are you stupid? That bastard is so fucked up on drugs, he doesn't tell me anything."

"Nothing?"

"He doesn't tell me anything," he repeated.

"This is pointless, Sasuke-" James said before stopping himself as he said his name.

"Idiot," Sasuke breathed, glaring at the stricken face of his partner.

"Ah, so you're name's Sasuke, huh?" Kiba said, smiling a Cheshire cat grin. "You, Naruto, and Neji from the same place?"

"No, we're not. That's irrelevant. What do you know about him?"

Kiba shrugged. "The bastard worked at Daiquiri. Neji too. Heard of the place?"

"Yes. Go on."

"I don't know, man. I don't know where he went."

"That's not what I'm fucking asking. I'm asking you, you motherfucker, what you know about Uzumaki. You claim that you two were best friends. Now prove it."

Kiba scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, his hands still in restraints. Like he was dangerous, he thought, flashing a toothy grin, showing off the sharp canines that he filed down himself once a month.

"He's a drug addict. He's gay. He's an alcoholic. He makes a ton of money. What more do you want from me?"

"Family?"

Kiba thought for a minute, then, lowering his eyes, his confidence gone, for he was about to betray his best friend, he muttered, "His only remaining family lives in Virginia Beach."

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked worriedly when Neji came into their room, his face betraying his emotions.

"We need to talk," he said, taking a seat beside Naruto and waiting for him to pull his shirt on.

"What about, baby?"

"They found us, Naruto." His eyes were serious, and it made his heart race.

"What-"

"The damn police. I got a call from Kiba. He had to tell where we probably went. He's in custody right now. Dammit, Naruto, what the fuck are we going to do about this?"

Naruto didn't hear him say this; he was too busy deciding his next move in this game. Where could they go? What would they do? He snapped his fingers as sudden realization struck him.

"What?"

"We're not going to do anything. Just calm down, wait, and see what happens. It's all a game, baby. Like chess. Just gotta make the right moves, and no matter what kind of situation your king gets into, he can get out. Just wait and see."

Neji regarded him wearily, feeling all of his strength leach out of him. He knew how crazy Naruto could get, but this was beyond the norm. This was all out insanity. And when he got like this, there was no getting out of it.

"Fine," he said in defeat, kissing Naruto gently on the lips and laying back on the bed, curling up into a loose ball and watching his lover finish dressing for the day, despite that it was nearly three o'clock in the afternoon.

"Are you sure, Naruto?" Neji asked softly, his voice cracking slightly under the strain of trying to keep from yelling at him or crying.

"Positive. Don't you trust me?"

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing, Neji. Trust me, okay? I know what I'm doing."

"I hope so."

Sasuke slid back into his car, pissed and feeling terrible. Now he had to go get on a plane and go to Virginia Beach in the middle of winter, and try to come up with a good excuse to get away from Itachi. It wasn't like he could pull the girlfriend card now. He wouldn't spend a whole week at a girl's house, ever. Not even if they were married, he'd always be away on business trips. He could always tell Itachi he was going out of town due to Uchiha Industries, yet he would want to go with.

He slammed on his brakes as he hit a patch of ice, pulling him from his thoughts with a force that was almost unheard of. He pulled on the wheel, wrenching it first to the left, and then to the right before it straightened out and the tires stopped slipping on the ice. He let out a held breath, letting his eyes slip shut and letting exhaustion take him over.

"I can't do this," he muttered, and pulled out his cell phone to call Kakashi.

The door opened and closed nearly silently. Soft footsteps crunched on the dark gravel and a car door slammed shut, the motor cutting harshly into the twilight.

"Bye, Neji," Naruto whispered to himself, staring at the dark window that gave view to where Neji was most assuredly asleep. At least he still wished that he were. Who could be certain at this point?

He backed up the car, reciting the note that he had left for Neji for when he would wake up.

_Dear Neji_, It began._ I went back to New York. Don't follow me. I don't want you here while I do my thing. It's too dangerous. I need to fix my life, clean up my act, really. When I come back, I'll be a changed man. At least I hope I will. When I come back, we can be together for real. We can finally be married; we can finally be a real couple, in our own house. But I need to get it all together first. It won't be long. I'll keep Kiba updated on what's going on, and if anything happens, he'll tell you. I'll send money for you monthly. Please, just don't follow me. Stay with my aunt. Hunter really likes you. He needs a good friend._

_Love, _

_Naruto._

* * *

A/N: So that was chapter six. Tell me what you think. I nearly cried during Naruto's letter to Neji. But I'm just a big baby, so whatever. Once again, tell me what you think about it. Reviews are ALWAYS welcome. ^^

**Spoilers:**

Okay, so I saw the third Naruto movie last night, and it totally didn't keep my interest. Why must all of the good shows suck with movies? I mean, what was the point of it? Someone tell me, please! What was up with the spoiled brat? I mean, he wasn't so spoiled, he was really sweet, but still... he reminded me of Sasuke... these movies are just fillers aren't they? Since Kishimoto can't come up with a decent plot yet? Whatever, I guess. /sighs/

Now I must farewell to my many lovers!

-.-: A bit cocky are we today?

Nah, I just think I have tons of people who love me!!

-.-: Okay, Mizery, whatever you say.

... What's that supposed to mean?

-.-: Talk to ya later guys!! Love you!!

Wait what do you-


	7. Chapter 7

Author: Miz Mizery

Rating: You all know it, M

Notes: Sorry it took so long... I've been on a writer's block for a while, and then I discovered the wonders of the internet (besides ff, that is), and then my internet shut off, so I have chapter eight already figured out, but it's nowhere near done. So, enjoi, I guess. I'll chat as usual at the bottom.

* * *

Sasuke stretched in bed, feeling the warm body pressed tight against him and groping for the half-empty bottle of beer on his nightstand.

"Go back to sleep, baby," came a tired voice from somewhere deep in the blankets. Sasuke smirked, looking down at the mussed blonde curls that were piled against his chest.

"Shut up."

Brown eyes met his, and a pout spread across the girl's face. "Don't tell me to shut up."

"I'll tell you what I want to."

"Sexy byotch," the girl murmured, causing Sasuke to chuckle softly. He settled back into his bed, smoking one cigarette after the other, one of his arms behind his head with the blonde whore curled into the space between his arm and his torso.

"Let me have one," the blonde said after a while, leaning over Sasuke to grab the pack of cigarettes on his nightstand. Her breasts swung against his chest, and he watched her move haltingly, a beautiful girl in her own way. He stroked her back gently as she lay there, propped up on one arm, blowing smoke into his face.

"Can you cut that out?" Sasuke finally asked, irritated.

She blew a stream of smoke into his face, and smiled. "Why?"

He lit a new cigarette and glared at her. She kissed him on the forehead and he pushed her away.

"Get dressed. I need to be at work in an hour." He started to get out of bed, letting the warm air in his bedroom settle around his naked body, but was pulled back by the blonde whore.

"You don't _have_ to go to work, do you, baby?"

"Stop calling me that," Sasuke said, his patience quickly lapsing. "I expect you to be gone by the time I get out of the shower."

She pouted and huffed, getting out of his bed before Sasuke even could. She bent over the slinky black dress she had discarded the night before and stepped into it, leaving her undergarments where they were.

"You can keep those," she said, her eyes flashing cold anger. "You can tell all of your friends you finally lost your virginity, and actually have proof." She picked her purse off of one of the low chairs that sat around the elliptical table in the small living room area that was a part of his bedroom. Sasuke growled low in his throat and watched the whore take her exit. That's why he wasn't married yet; Girls were nothing but trouble. At any rate, that was what he wanted to believe. It was, of course, quite possible that his business endeavors had gotten in the way.

He showered quickly, removing the lipstick stains that covered the lower part of his body, realizing just how filthy he was and feeling terrible for it. He scrubbed until his skin was red and raw; the water turned so high up that it left welts on his porcelain skin.

After he had showered and dressed, he went down to the kitchen, pulling at the tie that adorned his neck, and made a small breakfast of blackened dry toast that crumbled upon touching it. He couldn't cook for shit, and Itachi fondly told him so at the table. The two stared at each other with identical eyes, Sasuke chewing on his toast and Itachi sipping at his coffee.

"Why must you always act like an asshole, nii-san?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow at the young Uchiha. "In a good mood this morning, eh, Sasuke? Got lucky last night, as I heard."

He glared at the elder man, finished his toast, and left for work without saying anything.

* * *

"What can I do for ya?"

Naruto grinned, shoving his hands into his leather jacket. "C'mon, Gaara, don't be so formal with me."

The red haired man scratched the tattoo on his forehead, his eyes sliding to slits in his smooth face as his confusion registered. Then his cerulean eyes brightened, the thick make-up around them almost making the look comical.

"Naruto?"

The man laughed. "The one and only, brah." They clasped hands in friendship. "It's nice to see that you're not dead, man."

"What?" He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. What the fuck did you do to yourself?"

Naruto ran a hand across his short hair, the fuzz tickling the palm of his hand. "Chopped it and dyed it."

"Well I can _see_ that. Why?" Gaara laughed. "And why the _fuck _blue?"

The man chuckled again, and then became serious and settled back into the recliner that he had adorned many times before. "Someone's out to kill me. I disappeared in Virginia for a while, with Neji, of course, but yesterday he told me that they found us. Well, that they found _roughly _where we were. So I left Neji there and came back to get them away from him, and dyed my hair so that my blondness wouldn't give me away, as it usually does. And why blue? Because the way to fit in is to stand out. Plus, doesn't it just go so well with my eyes?" He batted his eyelashes as if to state the fact that, yes, it did go quite well with his eyes.

Gaara smirked, and shook his head. "Yes, Naruto, it looks quite nice. What about Neji?"

Naruto sniffed. "What about him? He's fine where he's at. He doesn't need to be where it's three times as dangerous for him to be."

"Oh." The red head nodded sarcastically. "So is this new Naruto into caring about people he likes too?"

The once blond-haired, but now blue-haired man frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that Kiba called me. And told me what a shitty job you've been doing at keeping everything on the D.L."

"Is it _my_ fault that everyone wants this sexy body?"

"No, but it _is_ your fault that you can't keep your addictions to yourself."

"Well, look who's talking. Look, I didn't come here to fight. I came to ask for help. I need to talk to Kiba, but the police are still at his house, tapping his phones… At least I'm guessing. I'm right, right?"

Gaara nodded somberly. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to tame the mess of red spikes to no avail. "I can't help you."

Naruto's face fell almost imperceptibly, but his friend saw the change and went to sit next to him.

"Do you have anything good?" Naruto mumbled pathetically, tilting his head against Gaara's chest.

"Yeah. Come 'round back to my office."

* * *

Neji's eyes flashed dark with anger and he hurled a stone at the cold, gray water of the ocean, the waves crashing against the gray beach and leaving gray stones and sea fishes behind. The sky was gray; the birds' calls were gray, just as Neji's attitude was. Hunter watched silently, the only color in this world of dark in the bright yellow raincoat his mother had forced him into before he could go out. He wiped a rubber sleeve against his face, but it did nothing to relieve the chill.

"So_ why_ did he leave?"

Neji couldn't control his mouth. "Because he's a mother fucking dick and is in even more trouble with the law than he has ever been in his pathetic, shitty, fucking life."

Hunter's eyes went wide. "Oh. You must be pretty pissed then."

The man had to laugh. The statement was so blatantly obvious that it was comical, and he caught Hunter's small smile from the corner of his eye. "Yeah, I'm pretty pissed. All he left was a letter." He threw another stone at the ocean.

"And…?"

Neji frowned. "And he said that he had to go back to New York before he got into more trouble, which is stupid, because that means he's just going back to where his problem's originated."

"I don't think they actually started there, Neji."

The man paused mid-throw, and nodded eventually. "Yeah, you're right. He's had a bad life. His problems started at birth."

The boy bent to pick up a small, smooth red rock, and held it in his hands, staring at it intently like it held the secret to Naruto's life. "His mom, my aunt, she was a… a slut. She always slept around. Naruto's not an only child, you know. He knows it, but won't acknowledge them as his siblings. His dad was killed in a car accident. His mom…"

"Died sad and alone in a flat in London after she had been beaten, raped, and robbed of everything she had. I know the story. I forced it out of him over a year ago." Neji frowned. "I didn't think _you_'d know it though."

"Oh, I do. My dad told me. We all went to the funeral, but I was too young to really remember it."

"Naruto was only twelve. So you were only one?"

"I was almost two. But it doesn't matter. I don't remember her."

"Naruto barely does."

Hunter stared at the ocean for a moment, then thrust the small red rock into it, watching it until the dark waters swallowed it up.

* * *

He was the only one on the road. Abnormal for inner New York, but not so much on the outskirts like Sasuke was now. He dreaded the traffic he would soon be coming upon, and dreaded the night that he was forced into working. He could see the strings of red lights up ahead, saw the headlights moving past him in the murky gray of twilight, and he too stopped shortly. Irritated, he pressed random buttons on his radio, finally settling on a station that played a little bit of everything. He hummed along with the songs, and this passed his time until he pulled up in front of the towering building where he worked at night, and shut off the engine of his new cherry red Ferrari, his early Christmas present to himself. He thought he deserved something nice and this was his way of showing it.

Kakashi was seated at his desk in his office, like he usually was when Sasuke arrived.

"Sit," the man said, not even looking up from his paperwork. Sasuke did as was expected of him. "How are things at home?"

This took the young Uchiha off guard. Kakashi wasn't one to care about his employees. Although, Sasuke was a special employee, to say the least. The old man had always treated Sasuke like his own son, seeing that the young man had little father to speak of, and supported his whole family on his own income, which was much to put on one so young.

Sasuke answered slowly. "Things are fine. Is this the reason you called me in?"

Kakashi grinned. "No, it's not. But you seem stressed, and you wouldn't go to Virginia like everyone expected you to."

"Things are fine," Sasuke repeated. He couldn't very well tell him that he hadn't been sleeping recently; every time he closed his eyes another worry popped into his head, or the guilt of killing his best friend would crowd into his mind and would prevent the merciful sleep from descending upon him. Lately, he had resorted to drinking enough in the evenings to pass out soundly.

"You know, Sasuke, if you need a vacation, just tell me. We can find someone else to do your job for a few weeks or whatever."

"Like I said, I'm fine. But the thought is nice."

Kakashi smiled kindly, taking in the man's disheveled appearance. His lightly colored red tee shirt was anything but professional beneath the heavy, black wool trench coat, and he hadn't shaved in at least a couple days. His hair was flat and it fell on either side of his face as if it had given up the will to live. The old man found it almost comical, yet he knew that Sasuke was worse off than he let on. It disheartened the man, because he had thought that the young Uchiha could come to him, though this proved him wrong.

He sighed and tossed a manila folder in Sasuke's direction. "Only one tonight. His name's in there, as is his estimated address and hangouts. Drug dealer. Doesn't seem all too dangerous, but you can never tell with his type. If anyone gets in your way, mow 'em down."

Sasuke nodded and gathered himself to leave, but Kakashi stopped him for only a brief moment to inform him that they couldn't find Uzumaki, and that if he gets any new leads, to take them down and report back. The young Uchiha said that he would, and left, not opening the folder to read of his prey until he was in his car and had shed his jacket of his lean frame.

"Gaara, huh?" he said to himself, running his finger over the glossy photo that was paper clipped to the man's information. The light blue eyes stared back at him, and it made him shiver. He closed the folder so that he wouldn't have to look at those eyes anymore.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked softly, staring up at the high walls of the alleyway on either side of him. It felt as though, at any given moment, these walls that appeared so strong could crash down on him and Gaara and would steal both of their lives. The thought made him shiver and it only stirred his claustrophobia.

"Just to a friend's. I think he can help you."

"Are you _trying _to make me into a pity case?"

"I don't know. Do you _want_ to get out of this damn hole you've dug yourself?"

Naruto looked as if he were about to retaliate; yet a sharp look from Gaara stopped him, and he nodded slowly instead. A light from overhead cast his friend in a sallow glow, and it was almost revolting if not for the love that he held for him. With it, he could see past what to most would be odd or ugly: his friend's naturally abnormally bright red hair, his pale and cerulean eyes that were almost frightening, the ironic and morbid sense of humor that Gaara had had as a teen and still had, nearly ten years later.

The red head smirked to himself when he caught Naruto staring out of the corner of his eye. It wasn't every day that he would get so much attention from his best client. Not at all that he would ask for help too. Naruto was cold and impersonal. It surprised Gaara greatly that Neji had stuck with him for so long.

Snow was coming down in flurries, short, spiraling clouds that couldn't decide whether they wanted to blizzard or stop completely. It disfigured the pair's sight, and neither could see the tall black figure until it had seen them.

"What the-" was all Gaara could make out before a gunshot ripped through the night air and a bullet ripped through his shirt, flesh, and bone. Naruto stood by his side, frozen in horror, and watched the blood that bloomed across his friend's shirt pocket in a sort of sick fascination. He had never seen someone die in this way. He had never seen one of his best friends he had ever had… die.

"Don't move," came a voice that seemed too loud in the silence that followed the gunshot, and Naruto tore his eyes from his friend's dying body.

"Like I would," he said shakily, his survival instincts kicking in. Right now, he was all that mattered. The person lying on the ground next to him was not his friend. The person pointing the gun in his face, suddenly too close to be considered safe, was his new friend.

The man was shorter than Naruto by at least two or three inches, and he had to angle his arm up to have the barrel of the gun pointing directly between Naruto's eyes. His pale face was tinted pink in the cold, and his breath escaped from between his dark pink lips in sharp white puffs, like he had been running hard. His black hair matched his eyes, and they matched his jacket, which was littered with snow on the shoulders and was building up on his raised arm. He didn't look threatening; yet, Naruto knew not to trust this.

The look in this stranger's eyes was one of confusion, then, suddenly, his dark, thin eyebrows raised slightly and he breathed Naruto's name out in disbelief.

"Uh, yeah, that's me. And you're a hottie with a gun pointed in my face." Naruto smirked and moved forward slightly. "Why don't you move it?"

He shook his head, and ground his teeth together. "Don't say anything."

"Can I say 'something' then?" The gun clicked rather audibly in the still night air. The snow had stopped again. "I'll take that as a 'no'." He put his hands in his pockets and stared into the stranger's eyes. "You know, you really are cute."

The pink in the man's cheeks darkened. "I'm not gay."

Naruto shrugged. "And neither am I. I'm just saying, you're pretty good-looking. Kinda like a girl. _Are _you a girl?"

"What?" the man sputtered, confusion creeping into his eyes again. Naruto nodded.

"Nah, you're no girl. A girl would take the 'cute' thing as a complement, I guess… And she wouldn't say 'I'm not gay.' Are you sure? I know a lot of people who say they're not, but as soon as you get some whiskey into them, they're gayer then _Moulin Rouge_."

The stranger cracked a small smile, and Naruto rejoiced in this. He glanced down at Gaara's body, and felt a bit sorry for the man. He had lived a good life. If he made it out alive tonight, Naruto would tell his mother the news tomorrow. The old bitch would probably just blow smoke in his face and say 'It's about time.'

He returned his attention to the gunman. "So what do ya say about letting me get off free, cutie?"

--

Sasuke stared at the man in front of him, trying to control his shaking. This was it. His moment. He should just kill the fool and get over it. He couldn't believe that he had chanced upon Uzumaki during his assignment. It was too good to pass up. He had spent the last month and a half tracking him down, trying to get him, and now he was just standing there like an idiot. Adrenaline, he thought, and chastised himself for letting it get in the way.

He tried to squeeze the trigger, but found himself incapable of the act.

"Well?" Naruto asked, his voice soft and on the lusty side. Sasuke scowled and lowered the gun just a centimeter. "That's right. You don't really want to hurt me."

He had never come across someone like this. Someone who stared directly into his eyes and showed him what he wanted through that medium, who made it clear what he was asking for. It made him nervous. What kind of person _was_ this Naruto that could make even the great Sasuke Uchiha, Assassin, Business Tycoon, falter under a single look?

Naruto stepped forward only slightly, and reached up slowly to lower Sasuke's arm so that it pointed towards the ground. He let him, his eyes still trained on Naruto's. There was something about him that he couldn't pinpoint, and it wasn't his new hair color or the sexy pout that reminded the Uchiha of a girl's, that made him want to listen to the blond. Naruto smiled softly, his eyes still trained on Sasuke's, and his hand still on the man's forearm. "Hm, I think you need to loosen up a little," he murmured, glancing shyly down at Sasuke. Naruto's other hand that had previously been in his pocket moved toward the front of the Uchiha's pants. His stomach tightened and he stepped back, but Naruto came with him.

"Don't be scared, Mister. I don't bite." Naruto smirked seductively. "Unless, you know, you _want _me too…" His hand had found it's target and Sasuke sucked in a sharp breath, fighting back a small whimpering moan that had crawled up that back of his throat. He leaned back against the wall behind him, feeling the cold stone react almost violently with his warm skin, and let his eyes flutter shut. He could hear Naruto giggle softly, and it embarrassed him.

"Seems as if you like that, huh?" His voice was so close to his ear, causing Sasuke to swallow comically. He pressed his palms flat against the wall behind him and watched Naruto intently, not participating in this, but not pushing the intruding man away either. Naruto licked his lips, and then pressed them against Sasuke's for only a brief moment before he dashed away, leaving the Uchiha cold against the brick wall and very confused.

* * *

A/N:

And so the romance begins... Kinda. Tell me what you think, please. I wasn't sure about this chapter... I actually deleted the ending before I came up with this one, and I think this is better. I'm not even gonna tell you how it originally ended, because that'd spoil the next chapter. Hehe. And I've been thinking, this summer when I took that long break (some of you know what I'm talking about) I wasn't just slacking around. Oh no, I was still thinking of my story. So I wrote a short kinda one-shotty thing... That better depicts Sasuke's and Naruto's 'relationship' (I have to wonder, am I giving things away or did everyone see this pairing? Oh wait, it was in the summary. Haha.) from Naruto's point of view. But I think I'll wait until the end of this one to put it out, or maybe I should just put it in the bottom of each A/N that goes with the story at that point. It's only two or three pages long, so it shouldn't take up too much room... Okay, I talked myself into it. Starting next chapter, you'll have a special little treat to go with the entree.

But until then, review away, mes petits choux choux (I changed cause the next day we covered the conjugation of it. Haha, ironic, huh?) J'taim, et au revoir. (I'm learning French.)


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

Author: Miz Mizery

Rating: M (this chapter has lots of swearing and drugs... so that's why)

**A/N: So, uhm, sorry for my delays in posting. I didn't have any inspiration and it took a sick day to get it... and a lot of emo music. But now I have a headache, so I hope you're all happy. As promised, I'll have that special little thing that I mentioned last chapter at the end of this. I have only one more thing to say, and that's something that I've come across recently. Since I don't have very many reviews, and I am a review _whore,_ I have decided that the first five people to review- and when I say _review_, I mean it- will get something extra _extra_ special in addition to this. What I mean, is that those people who review can choose any part of this particular story written in a different perspective or in further detail. It has to have happened, there are no AUs, and.... yeah I think that pretty much covers it. From any characters perspective (for instance, the scene where Sasuke's father calls him from his father's point of view) or anything in depth (Like Naruto and Neji having sex, or Naruto and Kiba). Get it? I'll post something on my profile when the contest ends, along with who one, if it is desired. I'll PM whoever has won, and that is when I'll take the requests. I'll send it in e-mail, so send me your (the winnders) e-mail after I PM you (the winner). There. Now enjoi.**

* * *

Kakashi slowly dialed Sasuke's mobile number, knowing that he shouldn't be as worried as he was about the young Uchiha. It was only one a.m., but this assignment shouldn't have taken this long, and he was troubled by the thought of his star pupil being gone for such a lengthy amount of time just to complete something as simple as this.

When the man picked up, he sounded shook up and nervous. Yet, it was all silent around him except for a soft pop song that was playing in the background.

"Sasuke? Are you okay?"

His answer was shortcoming. "Uh, yeah."

Kakashi scratched the bit of skin beneath the black eye patch that was irritated by it. "Is Gaara-"

"He's dead," Sasuke interrupted, and Kakashi faltered. It wasn't like the Uchiha to be like this, and each word he uttered was quiet and shaky. "And Uzumaki's in New York."

The old man's uncovered eye widened dramatically. "And you know this how?"

"He… He was with Gaara when I killed him."

Kakashi dared not breathe. "And…?"

"I didn't recognize him until he was already gone." Sasuke's answer was delivered in monotone, almost like he had practiced it beforehand. Kakashi let out a sigh.

"There's nothing we can do about that then. Why didn't you recognize him?"

Sasuke paused, and then said just as slowly as everything else had been, "He dyed his hair. And he cut it, too. Not to mention, I was a little bit surprised to see him when he's supposedly in Virginia Beach right now."

"Well, apparently he's not, is he."

"Hey, don't get angry with me. It's not my fault-"

"I hired you to be aware of your surroundings-"

"You hired me," Sasuke cut in, spitting it out. "Because _you _retired and _I_'m your replacement. Because I'm the best out there. Correct?"

Kakashi was quiet, seething with silent anger at Sasuke's indignation, but let it slide when he realized how harsh he had been with him for not taking captive of Uzumaki. "Correct. But that's beside the point, Sasuke."

He sighed into the phone, then quickly said, "It's not my fault that his freakin' hair's blue…"

Kakashi couldn't help but laugh. "Blue? Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be? Can I go home, or do you want me to come in?"

The old man ran a hand through his hair, the tangles getting caught on the ring on his left hand. He sighed. "Go home. I don't think that I'll be needing you for a few days, so, uh, Sasuke; Try to relax." He hung up after that, not even waiting for the Uchiha's reply. He dropped his desk phone back into the cradle with a crash of plastic against plastic, and leaned back in his reclining leather chair, crossing his arms over his thin chest.

He chuckled quietly to himself. "He dyed his hair blue…"

* * *

"Have you heard from Naruto?" Hunter asked quietly as he dropped his backpack on the floor and dropped down next to Neji, who was seated on the beige sofa in the living room, playing an uneventful game of Solitaire. He shook his head and laid another card.

Hunter sighed quietly, slouching back and staring at the flat screen television on the wall straight ahead, above the cold fireplace. "You know, I think I'm the only one in my family who doesn't hate him."

Neji glanced at the thin boy, who had laced his fingers behind his head. Oh, how he looked like Naruto. If only his eyes were blue, he could be his sibling, perhaps his twin.

"What?"

Neji shook his head. "You look like Naruto."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Is that good?"

"Yeah, as long as you don't start acting like him, too."

Hunter laughed softly and placed a card on one of Neji's piles. It completed the set.

"Thanks."

"No problem. I used to play Solitaire a lot before Anna was born. I had no one to play with or anything, so I got really bored and my dad taught me. So I'm, like, a mega champ at it or something."

The man nodded and resumed his game, Hunter helping him at certain intervals. He had never been very good at card games, seeing that he could hardly sit still when he needed it most, which was why Naruto made the perfect partner for him since he couldn't stop moving either.

The thought made Neji irritated, and slightly frustrated with his fiancé. When he had been younger, he had always wanted to settle down, get a nice job, and have kids. He had never wanted to be on the run from the police. It had never been part of his plans, and he had made many. So far, none were fulfilled except losing his virginity and getting engaged. But what was being engaged when your fiancé was always making promises he couldn't keep? For instance, he had promised Neji all of the things that he had wanted as a child; a house, money, love, a family, the things every man wants. Yet, where were those things?

Hunter touched Neji's shoulder when the man paused in his game, and took a card from his hands, laying it down to get another set. "Zoning out?"

The man shook his head and smiled. "Yeah, I guess. Just thinking about Naruto."

"You do that a lot."

"I love him."

Hunter nodded and laid down the last card.

* * *

Naruto stepped from the two-story apartment into the cold winter wind, tugging a white and black stocking cap securely around his head to keep it warm. As expected, the mega-bitch had just lit another cigarette at the news of her oldest son's death and glared at Naruto, waiting for him to get out of her life and house.

He lit a cigarette, cupping his hand around the weak match flame against the wind that threatened to steal the fire and swirled trash around his feet as he walked along the over-crowded sidewalk. It seemed too crowded for a cold Sunday, but in New York, there was never such a thing. The streets were always busy, and didn't Naruto know it as he was pushed by a group of suit-clad businessmen who were too busy with their own lives. He just pushed back though, and dug his hands into his pockets, puffing on his smoke angrily.

He passed a man that looked at him only briefly, with dark eyes and hair and a gaze that said 'Fuck the world', just like the man who shot Gaara had. Naruto held his breath as he passed, revisiting last night against his will. He hadn't thought that his tactics would work, actually. Normally, straight men would've just pushed him away, or in this case, would've shot him dead. But the stranger, who truly was the epitome of hotness, had _let _him touch him, and then even kiss him. It had been an act of impulse, the kiss. He hadn't meant for it to happen, just to tease the supposedly straight man and get him to think that he was actually going to kiss him, shock him a bit. It had worked, that being shown by the fact that Naruto was still alive, walking among this over-populated world just as the stranger now was, or so he guessed. It had been a complete accident, really. Well, not completely. You can't _accidentally_ kiss someone. During that last, hovering second beforehand, he had every intention of fucking the man there in the alleyway. But he had pulled away just in time, only to realize what he'd done and to get away as fast as possible.

He pulled off his hat and ran a hand across his short hair; the length surprising him for only a brief moment before he remembered that he had cut it and he went on, turning sharply and randomly into an alley, pushing past several people to reach it.

When he reached the shadowed alley, he leaned against one of the opposing walls and sighed heavily, searching his jacket for his pack of smokes, but coming up short. He scowled darkly. "Fucking cunts…"

"Dude, watch your language."

The voice made Naruto jump, and his hand subconsciously slipped into his jacket pocket, where his brass knuckles laid unused; he cursed himself for forgetting them last night. A scraggly bum sat huddled inside a blanket next to a weathered shopping cart, and was smoking a cigarette.

"Hey, can you spare a smoke?" asked Naruto, slipping his hand from his pocket, but letting his fingers stray on the edges in case he would need the contents of it.

The man shook his head. "No can do, brother. This is my last one."

"Oh…" Naruto glanced out to the opening of the alley, where the hustle and bustle of city life didn't touch this secluded spot. He thought of the man who had killed Gaara, and thought that a man like that would most likely be found in a spot like this. The thoughts were disconcerting. "I, uh, gotta go."

The man waved his hand in the air dismissively, and lit another cigarette.

* * *

The house in Manhattan that had been seized by the police over a month ago was far from dormant now. Finding no useful evidence, the police put it back in Kiba's care, for being a good suspect and telling them where Naruto had been. Of course, after such a time without word of the blond, Kiba had begun to resent him further for his deceit.

In retrospect, Naruto should have thought better of going to the place where he had once lived.

The door, upon being opened, was immediately slammed in the man's face, which was understandable, even to him.

"Kiba!" Naruto called, though he doubted that the man could hear him over the loud house music spilling from within. He pounded on the door, and it opened a second time.

"What do you want?" Kiba growled, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. He'd been working out. How many times had Naruto tried to get him to do that? Too many to count.

"I've been gone for longer than this, dude."

"Yeah, but not without warning. Neji's pissed. Did you even think about what you were doing to him when you left?"

Naruto paused at the mention of his fiancé. "You've been talking to him?"

"He's been calling to see if you came back. Like, six times a day. Every day. So why _are_ you back?"

Naruto took that for a pleasantry, considering Kiba was not one to be pleasant. He stepped past him into the house and into the mob of people, with his friend shouting behind him, "It's quieter outside."

"Oh come now, Kiba," Naruto said with a laugh. "You know that I love a good party."

The man grabbed Naruto's shoulder, and said into his ear, "Why are you back?" He paused. "And why the fuck is your hair blue?"

"I'm dying it back," he said with a scowl. "And I'm back because whoever it is who is hunting me isn't just doing it for a bounty. He- or she- wants to kill me."

"Idiot," Kiba muttered, watching Naruto speak lightly into an attractive boy's ear, saw the boy, who couldn't have been over seventeen, blush a dark pink. He grabbed Naruto's shoulder, pulling him from his flirting. "Your fiancé is waiting for you at home. I doubt that you want to court another guy when you can barely handle the first."

Naruto chuckled, finding the expression on his friends face humorous. "Yes _father-_" He stopped himself before Kiba could, his eyes widening almost comically.

"Why do you always bring him up?" the man asked quickly, taking Naruto, stunned, by the hand, leading up the stairs to a place where it may be quieter. It turned out that it wasn't by much, but they didn't have to shout to hear each other. Naruto sat on Kiba's bed, dropping his head into his hands, while Kiba stood near the closed door, arms crossed and trying not to be mad at his friend.

"It's not my fault," Naruto mumbled so only that he could hear, but Kiba saw his lips move, and he came to sit beside him, their legs touching at the knee.

"You're so stupid," Kiba murmured, staring at Naruto, watching him swipe at his eyes angrily.

"You're stupid," he said bitterly, more to himself than to Kiba.

"Do you do this around Neji? Why does he miss you?"

Naruto cracked a smile, glancing at his friend. He wiped his eyes one last time and lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "I hate him."

"Neji?"

"You're funny."

Kiba sighed and lay back as well, watching the ceiling as intensely as Naruto was. "Of course you hate him, dude. You don't got to tell me."

He nodded, absently pulling at loose strings on Kiba's blanket without looking. He balled up the torn strings, rubbing them between his fingers.

"So," Kiba muttered, "Why did you dye your hair?"

"I didn't think that anyone would recognize me."

"Didn't think?"

Naruto sighed again. "Someone killed Gaara last night. They recognized me. I don't know how, but he had a gun, and he was gonna shoot me, but I… Used my tactics to get out of it."

"Poor guy. You must've scarred him for life."

"That's not the fucking point, douche," Naruto said, throwing the string ball across the room into the dark corners. "The point is that someone- someone with a _gun_- wanted to _shoot me_."

"It's not like no one's tried that before."

Naruto punched his shoulder, a smile tugging at his mouth. "It's not funny. Gaara's dead now."

Kiba stretched. "You know that it was coming to him."

"He was my friend."

"He was your dealer."

Naruto stuck his chin out defiantly. "So?"

"So, that doesn't count."

"_You _used to be my dealer."

"The key term is _used to be_."

"Fuck you."

Kiba looked at Naruto carefully, noticing that his eyes looked almost black in the dark.

"What?"

"You don't deserve Neji."

Naruto frowned, lying back again. "I don't get it. And I don't want to talk about it. What time is it?"

Kiba glanced at his wristwatch. "One."

"Tired?"

Kiba shook his head. "Nope."

"Me either." Naruto took a deep breath and glanced at Kiba again. "You're staring."

"You're adorable."

"Didn't you just tell me downstairs to not flirt?"

"Doesn't mean that I can't."

"You're terrible, Kiba."

He shrugged. "You love me."

Naruto sat up, this time leaning over his friend to whisper in his ear, "That's true." He dipped down to kiss Kiba softly on the mouth, encouraging the other's hands to entangle themselves in his clothes, and vice versa until they were both unclothed, while the party raged on below, forgotten by them.

* * *

Sasuke sat at home, trying desperately to finish the work that he had taken home with him, but was distracted by the thought that Uzumaki was in New York, either still or again. And that was if he was still around, of course. He could very well have left, considering that after having a gun pointed in your face, most people wouldn't stick around.

Sasuke gave an exasperated sigh, closing his laptop to pick up the manila folders that Kakashi had given him at the beginning of this. The one on top was Hyuga's file, no picture, and very little information about him. He wondered whom he was, how he met Uzumaki, where he was. They hadn't even found an address in Virginia Beach that Uzumaki could possible be located at. No one that had anything to do with him, who even knew who he was. They had gone through almost every house, but considering that it was winter, many families were gone on vacation, so it was impossible to question everyone. But that didn't matter now. Because, supposedly, Uzumaki was still in New York, and, now that Sasuke had a definite face and possible location, he'd be much easier to find. Now all that was left was finding him. Which was the hard part.

Sasuke rubbed his temples, pulling off the glasses that he had to use for reading. Too much staring at the computer. His eyes hurt, and he decided that he needed a drink.

Itachi was downstairs, hanging out at the kitchen counter with his laptop, doing something work related, much like what Sasuke had been doing.

"Finally got a job, nii-san?" he muttered, sliding into a chair beside his older brother.

Itachi glanced at him, a glare present in his eyes, and grumbled, "I've had one for a long time."

"I know." Sasuke picked up a blank sheet of paper and began tearing the edges slowly. "What are you doing?"

Itachi stared at him incredulously. "First you call me 'nii-san' and then you're actually _interested_ in what I'm doing? Did you get laid again?"

Sasuke snorted. "No, I didn't. You would have most likely known anyways, you sick freak. I'm bored. Work is tedious, and I don't feel like doing it right now."

"Okay," Itachi murmured, closing his laptop. "And you think that I'm more entertaining?"

Sasuke had officially destroyed the paper, and he reached for another sheet before Itachi stopped him. "Sure, I guess. More entertaining than stupid work…"

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say that."

Sasuke shrugged. "It is. And boring. You know of anything fun to do?"

Itachi thought for a minute, before slowly saying, "There's this cool club in Manhattan. Named after a drink, or something. It's, well, it's kinda gay but…"

"Don't care. Lets go. You drive."

* * *

When Naruto woke up, it was almost three in the afternoon. He was tangled in the sheets with Kiba beside him, his skin hot against his friend's. He crawled out of the bed, dressing as quietly as possible to not wake Kiba. He laughed mentally at the thought. Kiba could sleep through an atomic war. There was no way that Naruto could wake him up.

The house was trashed, but it wasn't his problem. He found a pencil and some paper in a drawer in the kitchen, writing Kiba a short note, telling him that he'd be back later if he were welcome, that he'd be out doing something. Naruto wasn't quite sure what that _something_ was yet, but he was pretty sure it involved Daiquiri and finding some good booze and drugs. His mind was confused, considering he had just slept with one of his best friends, and it wasn't Neji. It wasn't like this wasn't something he did on a regular occasion, but it had been with Kiba, rather than some random stranger. He felt the guilt now. And he thought that it sucked.

Even though it was almost four by the time that Naruto got to the club, it was already alive. No one recognized him who worked there, which was probably for the better, since he had left with no notice to the owner, who was an irritable man in his fifties. He kept his eyes open for any dealers, knowing most who frequented Daiquiri by name and face. Though it had been over a month, he still knew everyone. It wasn't long before he had talked up a deal with a man with red, bloodshot eyes and green hair. Fifty dollars worth of weed for forty. Not bad, thought Naruto as he pocketed his haul.

The booze was as easy to get as the drugs, since it was, after all, a club infamous for its alcohol. Trashed could not describe the state that he was in after he stumbled away from the bar and out into the cold night air. He didn't know how long he had been there, but it was dark. Must've been an hour or so. The drugs and shots mixed in his blood stream, and he was soaring, so much so that he stumbled to one of the alleys that bordered Daiquiri.

It wasn't long before he was joined by a familiar face that had come out for a smoke.

* * *

Seeing Naruto, even in the drunken state, sent a shiver of trepidation up Sasuke's spine. Would he recognize him? Would he even notice him? Sasuke wondered why this was bothering him so much. Maybe because he wasn't on call right now. He didn't have to kill Naruto. He didn't have to tell Kakashi that he had seen him. On the other hand, it was his job.

"All this for a fucking cigarette," Sasuke mumbled to himself, lifting the stick to his lips to take a drag on it. Naruto noticed this, and he pulled out a joint, lighting it. The flame lit the small area dimly; enough to illuminate Naruto's face for a second before he shook the match out and threw it into a snow drift.

"Hey," Naruto said, frowning, staring at Sasuke through the dark. He had been strolling up and down the alley, talking to himself, occasionally stopping to stare at the sky as it sprinkled snow on his face. This is what Sasuke had seen. There was no telling how long he had been here, or what he had been doing.

"Hey," Sasuke muttered, exhaling gray smoke as he uttered the word.

"I know you from somewhere."

Sasuke shrugged, not feeling like saying that he had killed his friend the other night. Alas, he didn't have to.

"I know. You killed Gaara." Naruto took a hit from the joint. "And then you wanted to kill me, but I didn't let you."

"Yeah. Something like that."

Naruto was silent for a while, and Sasuke lit a new cigarette after he flicked the stub away. The other didn't light anything new after he put out his joint.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Naruto asked after several moments, staring at Sasuke with an attentiveness that disturbed the raven to no end.

"No," he said uncomfortably, shifting where he stood.

"Why?"

Sasuke repeated the question absently, trying to ignore the feeling in his stomach. He pulled one last cigarette from his pack, and offered one to Naruto, who accepted it gratefully. He lit Naruto's, choosing to simply chew on the end of his instead.

"Why don't you light it?" Naruto asked after taking the first, long drag. His slurring lifted a little, and Sasuke smirked, saying softly, "You ask a lot of questions."

"I'm questionable," Naruto said just as softly, giving Sasuke a coy look. The man's eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline.

"Where are you staying?" Sasuke asked a few minutes later, the cigarette bobbing between his lips with each syllable.

"A motel down the road," he said after he dropped the filter, crushing it beneath his foot without ever taking his eyes off of Sasuke.

The uneasiness in Sasuke's stomach deepened, and his heart raced as he thought about what it would be like to have Naruto do to him what he had done the other night, and he could almost feel his face paling as he decided that he was taking Naruto home with him tonight, whether the man liked it or not.

Finally, he murmured haltingly, "Spend the night with me."

Naruto's mouth went slack for a moment, his eyes widened, and Sasuke felt almost as if he had been rejected, like all the times before.

But then Naruto's eyes slid almost closed, and he smirked softly, strolling forward with definite confidence that Sasuke couldn't deny.

"Would love to," Naruto whispered, and Sasuke couldn't tell if he was still high or not. It didn't matter. He told Naruto to wait as he went to get the car.

* * *

A/N:

So, here's the little thing that i wrote over the summer...

It was hot that night I first met you. I remember it so well. The air was humid for March, layered with the rotten stink of garbage and cooling blood. The gun still had smoke whisping away from the muzzle when you raised it to my chest. A cigarette hung precariously from your lips; It wasn't lit.

I glanced at the man on the ground. He was dead, his eyes caught in an external shock. 'Why me?' they screamed. I lookead away and saw you frowning.

"Nice night, huh?" I attempted conversation. You grunted, and lowered the gun. I heard the familiar click and spin of the pistols chamber, and I knew it was empty. Relief didn't cross my heart. You put the gun away.

"It was." Your voice cut through the heat and froze my blood. I didn't let it show. I didn't flinch. I looked at the man again. His lips, pale but painted red with flecks of blood. His skin was already gray, even in the pale alleyway light.

I heard footsteps, and a gentle scuff on the garbage-strewn floor. I wasn't surprised to see you walk past me, your shouldre almost brushing mine.

"You weren't really gonna shoot, right?" I asked. Your footsteps stopped, echoed through the small space. I watched a cat cross in front of me, black, bad luck, but I relished in the thought of any luck, good or bad.

Your words came slowly, and because I had my back to you, I couldn't tell why. Your voice was indifferent to the words it formed.

"Yes," you said, your words so soft, but I couldn't have heard them wrong. "If fate whould've let me."

I didn't realize that I was holding my breath until your footsteps disappeared.

--

The next time I saw you, I was high. I asked if you had a girlfriend. You said no, looking away. I asked why. You repeated the question and didn't answer, instead taking out a cigarette and offering me one. I took it, and you leaned in to light mine.

"Why don't you light it?" I asked, my slurring fianlly lifting with the first long drag on the cigarette. Hard stuff. Rich tasting. Expensive. I wondered if you would taste the same.

You didn't answer right away. I thought you hadn't heard me, so I asked again.

"I can't," was your answer. Confused, I asked why. The cynical smile that crossed your face almost appeared wolfish, crazy, hungry.

"You ask a lot of questions."

I took a drag on my cigarette. Once again, the flavor shook me.

"I'm questionable." My mouth had said it. I looked up and your eyebrows were raised. I remember thinking hou sexy you looked right then.

"Where are you staying?" you asked a couple of minutes later. You were chewing on the cigarette; it quivered between your lips.

I took one last pull on it, holding the heady smoke in for a few seconds before my lungs pushed it out. I dropped it and crushed the filter beneath my foot, never taking my eyes off of you.

"A motel down the road," I said. Liar, I thought.

You looked uneasy, like you were about to do something you shouldn't. Or you had already done it.

Finally, you murmured, "Spend the night with me."

I was taken off guard, as were you. A loook of vulnerablity corssed your face, and I knew then that I wouldn't be 'home' until morning.

TBC

So that's the first installment of my little... whatever you call it. Obviously, some things are different. Next chapter, it'll be shorter, I promise. Don't forget the contest from above. Anything, including the special thing above. So, get reviewing my pretties.

Je t'adore, ma belles et beaux!


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